“A few days ago, a press release was issued on behalf of the Galactic Coalition. In it, Coalition members declared they had found evidence that links the forces of the Reavers, the plight across the galaxy which is consuming and destroying civilizations entire worlds at a time. I stand here, on Coruscant, the former and future capital of this galaxy. I’ve seen Imperial records, including video and holographic recordings of the Reavers, and I tell you, with more than a slight measure of fear, that the Reavers are an evil all their own. They are, in methodology, appearance, and behavior, an entirely unique brand of terror. And they are, indeed, terrifying. I have seen what they have done to worlds that were under the jurisdiction of The New Order. Even this massive empire stood unable to stop them short.

But to the matter at hand. The accusation that, somehow, the Cree’Ar destroyed The Black Dragon Empire, perhaps with the Reavers, and then set them about the galaxy. I watch the way that the Cree’Ar Dominion have been rebuilding this world… slowly, as the damage, both inflicted by the invading forces of the Dominion, and inflicted by the departing bombers of The Empire, has been substantial… I know that there is no way that something as… absolutely evil, could have been spawned from a people who, for the most part, dedicate themselves to the pursuit of science, faith, peace, and understanding towards which they can better their own society.

Yes, the Cree’Ar have a military, and yes, their first contacts in this galaxy have been somewhat violent. But they are not interested in the devouring of innocent worlds. That is not their way. Before you indict them for this manufactured crime, see the evidence for yourself. I believe you will find it to be either manipulated, entirely circumstantial, or simply non-existent.”






“And it is with a heavy heart that I make this speech to you, on this day.

I consider each of you to be a rare breed; you have served with honor and distinction in representing the entire Dominion. From the fearlessness of the Parrow Lin, to the honor of the Cree’Ar themselves, you have all served to the greatest of your available ability. I have never had reason to be concerned or ashamed of any of you. You have all done me proud.

I leave you today not of my own volition. I have been summoned to the Ariguan Arm to take over as leader in our home galaxy. Although the conduit network by which we arrived is stable and will allow me to return home within only a year, that network will be disassembled following my journey. It will be some time until the rest of you can join me under the Red Sun.

While I am in the home galaxy, Artanis Daz’da’mar will be your new leader. I expect you to serve him as you served me. I expect he will receive exemplary service, as I did, in all of the operations he undertakes in this galaxy. I believe that when he contacts me, he will speak highly of you. I believe in you. And I trust in him to be true to the goals and the aims and the honor of the Dominion. If I find that you have let me down, I will have him relieve you of duty. And if I find that he has let me down, I will relieve him of his head.”

That last comment drew a round of subdued laughter; those who knew he was serious did not chuckle.

“I will miss you all.

Eptar'a'kar'a.”

The assembled crew repeated the salutation, and then physically saluted to their departing commander. As the soldiers and the officers cleared, one remained.

“Your thoughts?” Kal Shora asked.

“It will be difficult, adjusting to a new Cree’Ar leader,” Issk offered back.
Kal Shora nodded, understanding. “I have grown used to you by my side, Templator Issk. Live in the Ariguan Arm will not be the same.”

“Nor will life here,” he said. He watched the wormhole close beyond the visage; another group of commanders taking another group of ships back to Ga'jak'ta'Gee'd'ja. “I only hope that Artanis’ vision of a Coruscant under our control is not too ambitious.”

Kal Shora snarled. “He does not lack ambition, does he,” the Cree’Ar commented dryly. “I have faith in my men. They will win that world; at what cost depends on the tactics that their commander employs. I only hope he listens to Badaar; that man is a tactical genius. If they are to argue, I fear our campaign here may grind to a halt.”

“I will keep both eyes on the situation,” Issk told the elder. He offered his hand. “It has been an honor.”

Kal Shora nodded. “It has. Would you, I wonder, do me a final service before I leave?”

Issk nodded in return. “What would you ask of me?”

Kal Shora raised his palm. He draw it across his other hand, allowing the sharp talons at the end of his fingers to slice into his skin. Issk understood, drawing a blade he kept at his side, and slicing open a cut on his palm as well. The two then shook hands.

“Do not let Artanis overlook you,” Kal Shora said. “You have always carried yourself with the honor and the respect that would a natural born Cree’Ar, and now, you carry the blood of one as well.”

“I will honor your gift, and your name, in this galaxy,” Issk said. “I await your return.”

Kal Shora drew the warrior close. The captor had been converted; and both now stood as brothers. Warriors of different races and blood, but now bonded by a common ideology; a trust forged over time, had they learned of their common goals and common enemies. Now, the elder man was gone; replaced by a blood prince, and a man Issk had yet to meet. He was asked to serve, and protect, that man as he had Kal Shora. Issk was not sure he could do it. But he was not sure he had any other choice. There was something now beyond the plain of man; something inside his head that guided his thoughts, and his actions.

It was the voice of The Taj.





“We have access to an entirely different set of evidence, however, that we would like to share with you. Unfortunately, I have no reference materials in order to clarify things, but I intend to state what I know, and invite you to verify it of your own accord. In the evacuation The New Order was careful to expunge all sensitive data from their computers. A wise precaution to be sure, but apparently The Empire felt that leaving holographic recordings of the aliens who attacked them as they handed over their planet to the control of aliens who were attacking was only logical. Of course, we weren’t the only ones who launched an attack against the Empire. It turns out they were attacked at Kamino as well.

Shortly before Coruscant collapsed for good, the surrender of the New Order at Kamino was formalized and the planet was officially transferred over to The Galactic Coalition. Fair trade for the Imperials, since the planet had just come under siege. But they were unaware, of course, as were most people, that the planet had come under siege from the Azguard. After all, many are those who only heard of the Azguard as myth and legend before one got down on his knee and kissed the boots of the leader of The Empire. But as someone who remembers the Azguard before they joined the Coalition, the days of the Azguard Galactic Military, and the later reorganization of that military into the Azguard Home Defense Fleet, I recognize those vessels.

They are, unmistakably, Azguard.

You may notice that I speak of the Azguard Galactic Military with some measure of pride. I am proud of my people. And seeing what they have become darkens my heart. It was around that time that one of our foremost commanders left in search of a higher calling. He searched out The Jedi Order. When he returned, however, his influence began to change our society. At first, many were receptive of such changes. But soon, I grew wary of them. We stopped being a proud, but isolated society, and instead joined a Coalition of bullies and thugs who attempted to push our own moral values on the rest of the galaxy… by force, if necessary. It was a change that I could not support. When our once upstanding people slid into bed with the Outer Rim Sovereignty, we crossed the line that can never be uncrossed.

There is a reason I am making this broadcast. The Cree’Ar have long regarded, and still do regard, the Galactic Coalition as less of a legitimate government and more of a group of intergalactic terrorists. They have started numerous wars against numerous legitimately instated governments across the galaxy. Their policy of striking first and subsequently surrendering without ever explaining why they insisted on war in the first place is no longer feasible, so they have switched their tactics to sneak attacks on people they claim to be allied with. And make no mistake, the Azguard would gladly shake hands with the devil himself if it allowed them the ability to get positive PR from fighting against the Reavers. That they are now forming an anti-Reaver coalition with the very people they attacked at Kamino is not surprising to me, but it does turn me cold.”

Artanis had a more direct style of leadership than Kal Shora.

Kal Shora preferred to allow the actions of his men to guide his policy. He played to their strengths and allowed their strengths to become his own. He guided and directed them to do what they did best where best it was needed. In that way, his command was not so much to tell the men what to do, but simply to tell them where to be, and allowed their own natural impulses to lead them. He put soldiers where he needed soldiers, and surrounded himself with thinkers. In so doing, he capitalized on the intellectual resources of the commanders around and stayed removed from overthinking tactical situations which he would no doubt cause more harm than good.

Artanis was somewhat more heavy handed.

He preferred to put his personal stamp upon the direction the men under his command took. He told them when to be where and how to behave. It caused some misdirection and misappropriation of talents. Issk observed watchfully as Artanis and Shran Baadar disagreed on another deployment of forces to fight off the new SS flank; after a moment, Artanis hastily ordered a reversal to follow Badaar’s initial proposal. Badaar, wisely, made no comment.

The battle above Coruscant had taken some time now; it seemed like weeks. The Imperial forces were fighting valiantly but it was more than that; Artanis was not a commander. If Kal Shora were leading the forces here he would have razed the planet within days, and charged his forces past the smoldering wreckage of the Imperial warfleet, allowing skeletal Star Destroyer husks to litter the orbit as a warning to those who would attempt to take the world back. Artanis was not the same tactical mind and his ego was too large; it had made what should have been a surgical strike into a bloody war for attrition.

It was Issk who suggested employing The Phage; the word of The Taj told him the suggestion would go over well. At first, Artanis rejected it, but Badaar stepped in, considering it to be a wise suggestion. While the Imperials had people left on the ground to fight for, they would stake their claim that this was their world and they needed to defend it. The implication that the Cree’Ar would kill all of those people would surely cause them to reconsider their position.

Badaar and Issk disagreed on whether to actually deploy The Phage or not, but Issk felt confident that he would win that argument in the end.
The Taj had spoken. His will would be done.

Issk watched the Imperial fleet fighting with all their strength. Knowing that, in the face of the superior technology, that there was no way that they could claim any measure of victory on this day. In time, they would accept that, and when they did, this world would be theirs.

Issk knew, in time, he would walk the surface of the world. When he did, he would see The Phage delivered himself, and the cleansing of another world would begin. The Taj would smile upon the surface of Coruscant as it was wiped clean of the impure nonbelievers and recreated in his image.

It would take time.

But in the end, all the worlds here would bow all the same.






“I realize that you likely view my words here with a skeptical eye, and I cannot blame you for that. You may immediately dismiss this as Dominion propaganda, and I could not blame you for that either. But I am not doing this because I spend my time amongst the Dominion, I am doing this because I was born amongst the Azguard. I will never be anything other than an Azguard. It saddens me now to see what my people have become. Duplicitous. Devious. Disrespectful warmongers. This cannot continue. The immortal souls of my people hangs in the balance. This path that the current government of the Coalition and Azguard itself has committed to must be stopped here.

And so, today, I ensure that the Azguard will no longer be able to hide behind the veil, launching attacks as they see fit.

The following coordinates are the coordinates of Azguard, Hurok, Hephastus, and Kraken IV. They are the original colonies and the homeworld of the Azguard. You may verify my words there.”






“The Corellians are a proud people,” Issk told Artanis. “They will not want to be subjugated. Treat them with the illusion that they are our equals.”

Artanis scoffed. “They offered us tribute to draw us here. Does that not make them already in a position of submission?”

“Indeed,” Issk said. “The population accepts that as a measure of desperation, but, if we continue to enforce our superiority, they will eventually reject their own leadership and revolt against it, and in turn, against us.”

“So you advise we play to their belief that they are still relevant?”

“In some ways, they are,” Issk said. “Centerpoint, for example. It is capable of moving worlds. We can do the same, in time, given enough resources, but they have an entire station capable of doing so. Or interdicting entire sectors of space. It allows for the perfect hiding spot away from anyone who would dare to chase you.”

Artanis nodded satisfactorily. “Your assistance is invaluable, Templator Issk. Kal Shora was right to put so much faith in you.”

Issk nodded. “I sense I have not yet earned the same faith in you,” he countered, and Artanis offered a grunt. “Perhaps in time.”

“Do not ambition to curry my favour, Azguard,” Artanis told him, sternly. “You are still a strange concept to me. I will keep you at arms’ length for the time being for reasons that should be obvious.”

“You don’t trust The Nexus,” Issk noted, referring to his connection to the system through the cybernetic implants inside his head.

“I trust it to kill for me,” Artanis said, “but not yet to die for me. If those Corellians put a gun to my head, would you redirect it to yours?”

Issk considered. “And what would that serve? If they were to shoot me, they could simply shoot you second. Better still to kill them before they even draw their guns, would you not agree?”

“You are a unique creation, Templator Issk. I will offer you the true words those,” the Cree’Ar stated. Ahead, the door opened. “Announce us,” the Cree’Ar commanded as he stood as tall as he could stand.

“Delegates of the Sons Of Corellia, I am Templator Issk, and this is High Elder Artanis Daz’da’mar, leader of The Dominion in this galaxy,” Issk said, and then offered a bow. He spoke fluent basic, and knew their customs. He would bridge the gap between the Corellians and Artanis, who knew nothing of their sorts.

“Welcome, Delegates Of The Dominion,” a man behind the table said. “I am Thracken Sal Salo, leader of the Sons Of Corellia. I trust you have come to negotiate the transfer of The Jedi Corps to your custody.”

Issk translated his words, and Artanis gave his answer. “We trust you have them all in one location,” Issk said. “If so, then we have more pressing concerns.”

“You refer to The Reavers?” Sal Solo asked, and Issk translated to Artanis. The Cree’Ar offered the human the one gesture he knew needed no translation as he softly shook his head. “But… surely The Reavers are the greatest threat our two peoples could face…”

“E’t’aa’ad’aa,” Artanis said. The Nexus units behind him moved into the room. He could see the Corellians shade back a bit from the table, unsure of what was going on.

“Lord Artanis,” Sal Solo asked, “what is the meaning of this?”

“A demonstration,” Issk said, not needing to translate. “The tek’a’tara are setting up a visage. It is one of the ways we relay information. It breaks down the data stream provided by The Nexus and recombines the data into a visual representation.”

“I see,” Solo said, as the screen was erected. “What are we looking at?”

“One of our Borleas cruisers,” Issk replied. “You can see a Reaver vessel approaching from the right flank.”

The man watched. The Reaver vessel continued on course, slowly heading towards the Cree’Ar bulk cruiser… and then on past, not stopping at all as it glade by the vessel as if ignorant of its existence.

“They don’t even see you!” one of the Corellians shouted.

“Oh, they do,” Issk told him. “In our past experiences with The Reavers, they stopped to study our vessels. But The Reavers have a very basic intelligence and much of that intelligence is limited to pattern recognition of their core needs. They do not recognize our ships; from their experience, your technology and biology is what they need, so they recognize the pattern of energy that your technology operates upon and seizes upon it.”

“You use a different form of energy?” Sal Solo asked, catching on.

“And different methods of transmitting data. To The Reavers, a Cree’Ar vessel is an oddity. Akin to… a volcanic rock. You can see it in a pile of other rocks, and it is interesting how this one has pores and this one is smooth and this one shines, but none of them are the shell you are looking for; none has the mussel within,” Issk said, finishing his analogy in a way that the high cuisine loving Corellians would understand. “In time, and given enough desperation, it is possible that they may turn their renewed attention towards us, but with so much of an abundance of warm, palatable radiation showing to them, they bypass us to get what they want.”

“Is it true, what they say?” one of the other Corellians asked of Issk. “Did you create The Reavers?”

“No,” Issk replied. “We have had limited contact with them, and have used those interactions, and studies of the reports of other governments, to form an understanding of their function. But we did not create them,” he said, honestly. “Our working theory is that they are a byproduct of the Coalition’s victory over the Black Dragon Empire. The timeline of events between the collapse of the Black Dragon Empire and the end of their propaganda announcements, the appearance of The Reavers, and the rise of, and separation of, a machine intelligence within and now without of the Coalition, makes us feel that the source of The Reavers is rooted somewhere in those interactions. That Reaver space spreads from the borders of the eastern provinces of the Galactic Coalition, coreword, would serve to reinforce that theory.”

“So you say the Coalition created them?” Sal Solo asked, curious.

Issk shook a hand in a Cree’Ar gesture he realized would be lost on the man, so he explained, “we do not say anything of the kind, Mr. Sal Solo. We only offer our internal, working theory. What evidence we have is circumstantial at best. Ultimately, their creation mythos is best left to future scientists; our concern is not how they were created, but in how they exist now,” Issk said, “and how best we can use them.”

“Use them?” one of the Corellians asked. “Why don’t you stop them?”

“Oh, we could,” Issk countered. “But why? The Reavers are a weapon; you have seen that. The Empire has demonstrated that to you by their actions. They do not know how to stop The Reavers, but they know how to use them. I propose we use them the same way.”

“But we cannot reach the transmitters that have drawn them to us,” one of the Corellians noted.

“But they can,” Sal Solo said. “The Cree’Ar can move about with impunity. Our interdiction field isn’t so much as an inconvenience for them. I think Templator Issk has offered us a way to strike back at our enemies. I propose we take him up on that offer.”

The murmurs of consent spread throughout the room, and Sal Solo’s expression told Issk that he had a deal.

“In closing, I would like to directly address Prime Minister Regrad: you may stand opposed to all that the Cree’Ar represent. But you need to stand true to your own principles. One of those stated principles is to judge not lest thee be judged. You would be wise not to antagonize foreign governments while your standing to the galaxy at large is primarily considered to be akin to a terrorist.

That, and I want to come home. Repent your sins. There is still time for us all.

Eptar'a'kar'a.”





“Vladet,” Issk said. “Kuat is too protected. The Empire would station much of its fleet there because it is too exposed a target. But Vladet was a fortress world, and one kept secret from all but the highest levels of native galactic governments. They would not believe The Dominion to have access to its location. If they wanted a safehouse for their forces, one which could be protected mostly by secrecy rather than force of ships, then Vladet would be the world they chose.”

“Then we agree,” Sal Solo said, and Artanis again shook his head. “I do not understand. Do you not want to strike a blow back at the Empire as well?”

Issk allowed Artanis to hear, and reply, to that question. “In time, if they fail to produce force users per the agreement we offered. We have a more pressing concern; the Force Users of this galaxy. Our intention towards them must now be clear, and we cannot allow them to muster themselves in force. We must strike first to disorganize any attempts at creating a Jedi or a Sith based resistance movement. They would be more dangerous to our aims then simple galactic governments because telepathic suggestions are, in a post-holonet world, much more effective than propaganda.”

Sal Solo considered. “But how you would find such resistance? Both the Sith and the Jedi move mostly underground since the formation of The New Order.”

“True, but they both value their history,” Issk said. “If you go back a thousand years, the force users of this galaxy continue to exist in cycles. One side dominant, the other dormant, and vice versa again in a cyclical fashion. One hunts the other into the shadows, then one strikes from the shadows to reduce the other to a position whereby it seeks whatever refuge those same shadows provide. All the while, the pieces change, but the board remains the same. The worlds they conquer, and fight for, remain consistent. They continue to hold on to the history and tradition of those worlds. So we know, from history, where they will organize their new resistance. And one, by one, we will remove those worlds from the playing surface entirely.”

Sal Solo nodded. He grinned a little to himself. “You seem confident. If you’re so sure, then where do you make your first target?”

Issk turned to Artanis and the two conferred, agreeing again on the next words to say. “We take the holonet relays and we drop them into orbit of Ossus.”

His eyes gazed down at the datapad and his grip tightened as they digested the meaning. The claws on his fingers dug into the datapad construction as the words were fused into his mind.




“We the People of the Commonwealth, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Charter for the establishment of a Republic…”