The world of Centares had at one time been a beautiful, lush world, rich with minerals and attracting tourists from across the galaxy. Then the Empire had come, strip mining the surface and polluting the air with thousands of factories. Caring nothing for the beauty of the planet or the lives of its citizens, the Empire used up the resources of the planet and moved on.

Since that time, the people of Centares had rebuilt, attempting to restore the planet to its original glory. The minerals that had been the planet's lifeblood had not returned, and the waters that were once so wonderful to swim in had become death traps because of the pollutants. Still, the people of Centares carried on.

New minerals were found in the soil, minerals that could be mined and sold. The air was once again restored to purity. The black clouds of smoke that had hung over the Imperial factories were no more, though the factories themselves still stood. The species of Centares were ready to continue a normal existance.

For several decades, no one had cared about Centares except its own people and those who were driven there by necessity. Now, at long last, another's eye had come to rest on the planet. But the eye was not one that the planet wanted, for it belonged to Colonel Wesley Vos, commander of the Imperial SS.


Centares
Presidential Palace


Secretary of Defense Zadok Avriel quietly entered the President's office. He had only been in his position a few months, but he had learned that most days for him were vacation days. The planet had not come under assault for decades, and it wasn't likely that anyone would be invading anytime soon. By this point, he was bored, so he had drawn up a list of suggestions for the president's approval.

The list outlined a number of military emplacements that had been abandoned and fallen into disrepair as well as a number of new additions that Avriel thought would keep the planet safe. Most people would probably laugh at him for even thinking that the planet might need to be kept safe. With the Empire and the Coalition and the Black Dragons occupying one another, it wasn't likely that Centares would fall under attack anytime soon. But surely the president wouldn't laugh.

Zadok pushed open the office door and stopped. President Talmai was leaning back in his chair, head resting on the top, eyes shut. His feet were on the desk, anad a small snore escaped as he dozed. Zadok shook his head. What manner of president sleeps on the job, he thought.

Zadok had not voted for the man. Of course, with the secret ballot system of Centares, no one knew that. Despite being a member of Talmai's party, the Secretary had voted for the opposition, thinking it would be better for the country. But Talmai had won anyway and had appointed his "friend" Zadok to the worst position in the world.

Zadok strode into the room and cleared his throat. The president, startled, sat up quickly and looked around. Spotting Zadok, he said, "Ah. Secretary Avriel. Good to see you. What can I do for you?"

"It's good to see you're doing well, Mr. President," Avriel replied.

"Cut it with the pleasantries, Avriel. You didn't interrupt my nap to tell me that I'm doing well. What do you want?"

Zadok seethed inwardly. This man was not a politician in any sense of the word. Neither was he bright. Having a man like this in office...well, it wasn't good. "Sir, I have a proposal here for improvements in planetary defense..."

Talmai cut him off. "Planetary defense? Avriel, nobody's attacked this planet in decades. Who the kriff cares about Centares except us? Why should we improve our defenses?"

Zadok quickly defended his proposal. "Well, sir, we are right near a Coalition border. If someone were to attack..."

"Nonsense," came the president's reply. "No one will ever attack Centares. We have nothing they could want!"

Zadok tried again. "That may be true, Sir, but it may not be. If you would just take a look..."

The president rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll humor you. Give me the datapad." Talmai's eyes scanned the list, especially noting the cost at the bottom. He pursed his lips. "Sorry, Avriel, I'm afraid we can't do it. To accomplish what you say, I'd have to cut every other budget by nearly 10 percent. It is wrong to take the money from education, welfare, and other important social programs that I have started. They'll all fail if we pull their funding like this. I won't do it without sufficient reason."

Zadok nodded respectfully. This conversation may have been over, but Secretary of Defense Zadok Avriel wasn't. Not by a long shot.


Echbatahn
In Orbit

General Zhu's shuttle landed in the large hangar bay of the Astrus-class Star Destroyer Tyrant. Technically the ship was now designated the Imperial Star Destroyer Mk. V, but the commander stuck with the old designation. It seemed more...unique, even regal, at least to him. There were those who made fun of the name, including many even in the Empire, but the commander didn't care. It was how he was introduced to the ship and it was how the ship would stay.

General Zhu strode down the shuttle ramp flanked by his small honor guard. Trained in the ranks of the Freedom Fighters, as well as spending a small time at the Imperial Academies, each of these men knew how to kill. To the small entourage waiting at the bottom of the ramp, some of the faces were even familiar. There was former corporal Chang Jinato, and opposite him former sergeant Maximus Gracus. They had fought well on Valinor.

Colonel Wesley Vos and his squadron commanders stood at attention as the General approached. It was an interesting meeting. By rank, General Zhu should have been the superior officer; however, Colonel Vos was the head of the SS, and therefore outranked the General. Interesting situation.

But Zhu could handle it. He saluted the colonel, who returned the honor. "Colonel Vos, a pleasant surprise. What brings you to our humble planet?"

Wes stared at him. "General, I'm going to need to ask for your aid."

Zhu's eyebrows shot up. "Really? You want us? For what?"

Wes blinked. "I need a permanent base for the SS. We have outgrown a time when we could simply live on the fleet. I am going to have to call your army into Imperial service. But we can talk more in the conference room. It is more comfortable there. If you will follow me?"

With that, Wes and his commanders turned and strode towards the turbolifts. Commander Racen Selere hung back, though, and fell in beside General Zhu. "General, good to see you again."

Zhu smiled. "Commander. You as well. What have you been up to since our fight for Valinor?"

Selere smiled. "Warring against the Coalition. What else?"

"Any interesting battles?"

"Well," Selere replied, "I'm sure you heard about the action at Bilbringi? I was part of a follow-up assault on Generis. Then I was involved in that little stint at Genon. Pretty fun crap."

"Sounds like it. So, what have I gotten myself into?"

Selere chuckled. "You'll see in a moment."


Briefing Room
Astrus Star Destroyer Tyrant


"So, General Zhu, that's the situation. Will your men be able to help us? Since you're technically not military, I can't order you to engage, but I can promise the reward will be substantial. The High Command, and the Emperor, would be most grateful."

Zhu sat back and thought for a moment. "Colonel Vos," he said, "You know that as military dictator of the planet, I can order my troops to do anything, and they will. However, if I wish to remain in power, I must keep the morale of my men high. They must understand why I am asking them to die. Can you give me a reason why I should ask my men to die on a foreign planet?"

Vos sat at the head of the table and looked at Zhu. After a moment, he spoke. "General, think of it like this. By establishing an Imperial presence in the region, you guarantee the containment of the Confederation and substantially decrease the risk of them assaulting and annexing your planet."

Zhu smiled at that. "Very well, then, Colonel. You can count on my support."


Hanger Bay


Selere and Wes watched Zhu's shuttle depart. The Commander commented, "So, the groundwork is laid. But we have to finish the first three stages first. Do you have a plan?"

Wes's face could have been etched in stone. "Commander," he said, "that's where you come in. Gather your squadron. Bring Lomax and Green Squadron along. Meet me in the briefing room in thirty. We'll get the details ironed out there."

Centares
Presidential Palace

Zadok Avriel walked towards the president's office for the second time in a week. This time, though, he was coming for the official cabinet meeting. Kriffing waste of time, Avriel thought. All we do is bicker about who gets how much funding, then end up verbally beating each other's brains out for hours. But such is a kriffing democracy.

Avriel was one of those people who, while living under a democratic system, wanted something more. In truth, he almost longed for the days of the Empire. At least stuff was accomplished then. Now we spend hours getting nothing done!

He pushed back his gray hair as his thoughts flitted back to his first governmental position. He'd been in his twenties, then, just before the fall of the Emperor at Endor. He'd been selected by the Imperial governor to be a staff member in charge of what he called monitoring morale. Basically, he'd been the political liason for those who rooted out treasonous thoughts and words. That part of his life had been erased when the planet fell, and he was all too happy to welcome the conquerors. Now, though, perhaps it was once again time for a change.


The Wheel
Aboard a nondescript transport


Commanders Racen Selere and Max Lomax stared out the viewscreen at the massive space station that lay not three kilometers from their position. Their transport, a modified Bulk Cruiser with most weapons systems removed, drifted in space while the Wheel's security officers made their sweeps. With the increased Imperial activity, the Wheel's officials had become more cautious about Imperials coming near the station. But Selere and Lomax's squads had hidden their equipment well enough that the security officers would never find it.

It had been harder to hide the stealth dropships that they needed. But Selere had found a way; he sealed off portions of the ship and created a second hanger bay for missions such as this. The officials would never know that they weren't up against the hull with the way he'd designed it. Colonel Vos had said it was ingenious. He was right.

Before long, the security officials cleared them, and the cruiser was allowed to travel past the Wheel. This was the Imperials' last stop before heading towards their actual target. Once clear of the station, the cruiser leapt to hyperspace, leaving the Wheel and its cautious officials behind. Ahead was their target, a single planet that placed too much assurance in its lack of value. Much too much assurance.


Centares
Presidential Palace


Avriel was hopping mad by the time he exited President Talmai's office. The meeting had gone just as he had expected. His proposal for increased defense spending and the revamping of Centares' defense systems was not even heard amidst the verbal assaults and pleas for more credits to go to education, welfare, social security, and every other pet project under the sun. To tell the truth, Zadok was fed up with it.

The system just doesn't work, he thought. If I were ruler... That thought wasn't too far-fetched. Centares didn't have a vice president. Because of the conditions under which the constitution of Centares was written, the Secretary of Defense was to succeed the president should he die in office.

It wasn't the first time such a thought had run through Avriel's mind. If I were ruler of this planet, much more would be accomplished. I have the army's loyalty. What am I waiting for? Oh, that's right. The army is but a shell of its former self.

There was nothing he could do on his own. The president had made sure of that. Still, if someone with the correct backing were to approach him, perhaps...


Centares
Above the planet


The Bulk Cruiser dropped out of hyperspace. As a testiment to the efficiency (or lack thereof) of the federally-run traffic control system, it was a full twenty minutes before anyone contacted them.

Selere and Lomax sat on the bridge, sharing a laugh. "You know," Selere said, "I think we could have just had the fleet drop in on this place and the whole kriffing planet'd be crapping their pants. If they bothered to notice."

Lomax chuckled. "Yeah, what's with all this undercover crap anyway? Why the kriff don't we just blow the place to hell and be done with it?"

Of course, both of them knew that Wes wanted the governmental structure intact with an Imperial puppet as president. To blast in and destroy everything would just be to form a resistance. One of the many lessons learned from the colonel's first real fleet battle at Bothuwai. Win the hearts and minds of the people, and you wouldn't have the quagmire that Bothuwai was becoming. The Bothan resistance was more active than ever, and the commander on the surface was constantly calling for more troops. The death rate was low, but it was constant. After nearly a year, that got tiring even for the Empire.

Finally, the call came through from Centares traffic control. "Unidentified ship, please state your business and transmit your transponder codes."

Selere nodded to the ship's captain, who spoke into the comm. "This is civilian vessel Destiny, simply passing through on a cargo run to Nam Chorios. Picking up some supplies for the Coalition refugees. Codes transmitting now."

Minutes passed as the cruiser drifted closer and closer to the drop point. Finally, the reply came back, "Destiny, you are cleared to proceed. Good luck with your mission. I hope the supplies help."

Selere and Lomax sat back and sighed. One of the most dangerous parts of the mission, the part they couldn't control, was over. The rest would be dangerous, but at least it would be controlable. But no time to waste. The two commanders rose and headed for the hidden hanger bay, where the rest of their team was waiting.


Centares
Outskirts of Muracie


The shuttles came in silently, black as night. The only hint of their passing was a slight rush of wind as they soared overhead. In the darkness of the night sky, they were discovered neither by electronic or visual scans. The two shuttles set down slowly not two clicks from the city itself.

Two SS teams piled out quickly, taking up perimeter positions in case of discovery. The shuttles lifted off, heading back to the cruiser from which they had come. Once clear of the gravity well, the Nightstalker shuttles fired their hyperdrives and met up with the Destiny less than a light year from the planet. There they would wait until the job was done.

Once the shuttles had departed, Commander Racen Selere gathered the teams together. "Alright. You all know what to do. Here's the location where we'll be staying. We need to get there before light, and hopefully we won't get stopped by security. The weapons we're carrying could put us in prison for a very long time."

With that, the teams split, heading into the city by different routes. The SS squadrons were good at what they did, so by morning's light both teams were safely in the hotel rooms while the Centares government and security was having a leisurely cup of caf, never realizing how close the end of their way of life was.

"Any whisperings from the other intelligence services?" inquired the commander of the local MRP listening outpost. Although officially disbanded upon the formation of the S.S., the local MRP intelligence groups still ran a few listening posts to make sure Imperial officials weren't plotting behind each other's backs.

"We have an interesting increase in traffic between sources believed to be affiliated with the Waffen SS." replied the communications officer as he brought up the messages in question on the screen.

"Hmmm...." muttered the commander as he browsed through the messages.

"What do you make of it?" asked the communications officer in turn.

"It appears that something is definitly underway, and apparently in the local region too, rather than against the Coalition." remarked the commander.

"Could be a infiltration mission against the Confederacy, in preparation for an offensive." replied the officer.

"Well, anyways, enough speculation. We'll leave the rest of that to the people that we have at HQ. Go ahead and encode this, and send it to the MRP HQ on Vladet." ordered the commander, his voice becoming strict.

"Aye sir." replied the officer as he went to work.

Centares
Muracie Hotel

The figure slinked through the early morning shadows, approaching the hotel cautiously. He wore a hooded cloak so none of his features could be seen; however, it was obvious to any that saw him that a blaster was concealed under the cloak. The bulge under his arm gave that away.

From a hiding place near the hotel, Captain Erol Brian watched the figure's approach with interest. He had drawn guard duty this morning, and he was going to make sure no one that could be considered a threat would make it into the hotel under their own power. As the figure came closer, it became apparent that this man was a threat. Brian recognized the face from the briefing Colonel Vos had given them before they left.

Erol waited until the man was nearly on top of him, then stepped out. The figure started, and the two locked eyes just before Captain Brian downed him with a single blow. Brian clicked his comm on. "Commander, better send some of the guys down. I caught one, and I'm gonna need some help bringing him up.


Centares
Muracie Hotel


The world slowly faded back into existance. Secretary of Defense Zadok Avriel's eyes began to come back into focus, and to his dismay the first thing they locked upon was probably the ugliest mug he'd ever seen. What a kriffing way to wake up, he thought.

"Hey Commander," the face drawled, "he's wakin' up."

Avriel blinked as the rest of the room came into focus. He was bound to a chair in the center of a large suite. Six others stood around, staring at him. He blinked. "You know, common courtesy says that you don't render your guests unconscious before you've had a crapload of drinks with them."

Ugly Mug guffawed. "Hear that, Commander? This one's got a sense of humor!"

A second man strode forward. This one was big, nearly as tall as a Wookiee. Or at least he looked that way to Avriel. Nearly as muscular, too. "Well, Lieutenant Locar, that can easily be beaten out of him. But not just yet. Let's see why he's here first. Of course, Captain Brian, you could have been a bit kinder in your method of delivery. He is an old man, after all."

Avriel turned his head as a third man, reclining in a chair, answered. It was the one who had confronted him outside. "Commander, you said neutralize all threats. It's the kriffing Secretary of Defense! At least if the briefing the Colonel gave us was correct."

The second man replied, "True. So, Mr. Secretary, why are you here?"

Avriel blinked. "Well, your guy knocked me out."

The big man chuckled. "Secretary Avriel, we're not playing around. We could kill you very easily, but you might be useful to us. So, tell us why you are at this hotel."

Avriel replied, "After you answer me. You're the Imperials who landed outside the city three days ago, right?"

The man looked at him, shocked. "How..."

"I make it my business to know such things. Don't worry, I'm not going to call it in. I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for years."

"Opportunity?"

Avriel rolled his eyes. "How 'bout I tell you what I know. Maybe you'll figure it out. You are part of an elite Imperial force, probably the SS. If so, you're here for one of two reasons, to stir up riots or to assassinate someone. I'd guess the second, since you haven't left the hotel in several days. I only see six of you, so the other eighteen are on guard duty or in another room. You inserted two teams three days ago and came straight to this hotel. If I had to guess, I'd say you're Commander Racen Selere. Your reputation precedes you. I'd also guess you were after either me or the president or both. Since I'm not dead yet, I'm guessing it wasn't me, though by now you're reconsidering. Am I right so far? Don't answer that. Your faces give that away."

Avriel smiled. "However, if you are here to kill the president, I'm not going to stand in your way. Like I said, it's an opportunity."

Selere cocked his head. "How...Oh, I get it. President dies, you're in. And let me guess - you want to help us, and in return, when the Imperials sweep in and take the planet, you get to be the puppet governor. I like your way of thinking. But how do we know we can trust you as governor."

Avriel just stared at him. Finally, he said, "Because I was the head of the Empire's Morale Monitors on Centares during the reign of Palpatine. I rooted out all opposition, and did a kriffing good job at it. You can check the records on Coruscant, if you like. I destroyed the ones here to keep my head on my shoulders."

Selere began to grin. "Alright then. What can you give us?"


Centares
Presidential Palace


Captain Manis Long strode up to the security booth outside the palace and presented his recently acquired security ID. The guard waved him through with only a passing glance. That old man was right, Long thought. Security is terrible! This should be easy.

Long walked through the courtyard to a small door in a shack. Opening it, he went inside and descended down a set of thirteen stairs. A tunnel opened before him, and he continued down it. Passages opened to the right and left, but he ignored them and stayed straight. Soon the passage sloped upwards, and he reached another door.

Opening this one, he found himself in the palace's security center. Two guards manned the systems - two old guards, he noticed. It didn't take long for Manis and his vibroblade to eliminate them both. They died without a sound.

Manis sat down at the control boards. As Gray Squadron's resident slicer, he was an expert with these systems. Within a minute he had taken blank screenshots of all necessary cameras. Another two minutes was required for him to make those shots the only ones that would be seen on any security footage for the next half hour.

Next, Long reached into his pocket and pulled out a small electronic device. The thing was his own creation, a small electronic jammer that, when hooked to a comm system, would jam only the communications on that system. Since Avriel had told them that the entire palace was on the system controlled from this room, he quickly attached it and turned it on.

Now to get rid of the guards. While security at the palace was lax, the president was a bit paranoid about his own men assassinating him. So he had inserted in each of them a device that, at the push of a button, would knock them unconscious. That made Long's work really easy. He simply pushed every single button on the panel.

With that, he pulled out his own comm link, which still worked. "Lieutenant Kraken, mission is a go. Good hunting."


Centares
Presidential Palace


Lieutenant Rissa Kraken of Green Squadron received the message and began to move. As the stealth and assassination expert in the squadron, she had been chosen to lead the small assault on the palace. It would be her job to locate and eliminate President Talmai with a single shot.

A native of Generis, Kraken had joined the New Order four years earlier at the young age of seventeen. By twenty, she had been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and was being considered for the SS. Now, as a Junior Lieutenant in Green Squadron, she had been chosen to kill the rightfully elected ruler of a planet in cold blood. And she had no problem with it.

She and three others moved through the courtyard quickly. When they reached the doors of the palace, Captain Rebar Luss, Green Squadron's slicer, quickly unlocked them. The four entered. Captain Henri Rex, the infiltration expert, moved as point through the building. If their information was correct, the president would be in his office alone. The assassination would be done from the opposite wing of the palace, from a room that offered a clear line of sight.

They made it halfway before they ran into trouble. A small contigent of guards had apparently awakened already. They opened fire from a decent position. Captain Rex and Lieutenant Kara Bey instantly hit the ground and began returning fire. Luss and Kraken moved down a different hallway.

The change of route didn't bother them, as Avriel had provided complete schematics of the palace for them. It was a simple detour around the guards while Rex and Bey distracted them. Another two minutes and they were in the room.

Kraken opened the window and looked directly across. There sat the president at his desk, back turned. Rissa smiled. This was way too easy. She nodded to Luss, who moved to guard the door. Then she began setting up.

While on Generis, Rissa had become quite good with something called a hypervelocity bow. All appearances would indicate the weapon was simply an old bow like the kind that were used before space travel. But there were several distinct differences. First, instead of the arrow resting on something, it was held in air by three magnets, making it both silent and deadly accurate. Secondly, the pulleys that held the bowstring had accelerators attached, which would speed the arrow to at least twice the force of a normal bow. Finally, the arrow itself was streamlined so that within 300 meters, air resistance had very little effect. This shot, being only about fifty meters, was easy.

Fitting the arrow to the string, Krissa sighted through the special bow sight she had attached when joining the SS. To make sure of his death, Krissa had coated the arrowhead in cyanide earlier; within seconds of striking him, the target would be dead. Of course, that meant she had to use gloves now to keep from killing herself, but it was worth confirming the kill. The back of the president's neck appeared in the crosshairs. She tightened her grip on the string...and released.

The arrow flew true, striking the president's window and shattered it. Despite the noise, the President Talmai didn't even have time to move before the arrow entered his neck, severing his spinal cord and windpipe before emerging halfway just above his sternum. His eyes grew wide for a moment, then glassed over as he slumped over. Mission accomplished.


Centares
Muracie Hotel


Back at the hotel, everyone congratulated Rissa on such an excellent shot. When they were exiting, Long had disabled the guards again to allow them safe passage out. The news had spread quickly, but the Imperials were well protected as Avriel was now in charge. He had called a general search, but he himself had detailed the teams that would search the hotel. They were former Imperials all, and they simply nodded to the SS commandos when they found them.

All that remained now was for the SS fleet to appear insystem and for Avriel to command the Centares armed forces to stand down. The planet was almost theirs. Selere spoke into his comlink. "Colonel Vos, mission accomplished. Primary target down, secondary target turned. Let's bring this home."


Echbatahn
In Orbit


Colonel Wesley Vos received the communique happily. Once again, Selere had done an excellent job. As had Rissa Kraken. Perhaps it was time for a promotion for her. Well, Selere's part was done. Now it was time for the fleet to come in and finish the job.

Wes strode to the head of the bridge of the Astrus Star Destroyer Tyrant, which had by now become his unofficial flagship. "Captain Typton," he said, "set course for Centares. Let's finish what we've started."


Centares
In Orbit


The SS fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Immediately, Wes was on the comm, patching a message through to the presidential palace. Selere had already given him the frequencies. "President Avriel, this is Colonel Wesley Vos of the Imperial Schutzstaffel. We are annexing your planet. Please have all defense forces stand down and surrender their weapons. Resistance is futile."

A reply was not long in coming. "Colonel Vos, good to hear from you. This is President Avriel. I have ordered all forces to stand down, though I cannot be responsible for those that decide to resist on their own. What I can say is that such forces will be treated as criminals and will be prosecuted. And Sir, let me say how glad I am that the Empire is finally back."

Wes smiled. Selere hadn't been lying about this man's enthusiasm for the Empire. Neither had Avriel been lying about his position. Wes had run a check on him while he was waiting for the assassination report. The man was an Imperial clear through. Just the sort to have running a planet. And he had the support of the people.

"Good," Wes said. "We will begin landing troops within the hour." As he spoke, eight Venator troopships moved forward. Within days, two-hundred-thousand troops and an entire division of armor would be landing on Centares' surface. The conquest of Centares was complete. But the establishment of a permanent base for the Imperial SS had just begun.


End