SHADOW HAND FORTRESS
Within the vast labyrinthe canyons of the Deep Core world of Kampe stood an Imperial fortress left forgotten by the tides of history. Centuries ago it had once served as the base of operations of the Imperial Warlord known as Sander Delvarus, and most recently had been utilized by the Sith-Imperial Remnant known as the Frozen Hand only five decades ago during it’s attempt to conquer the Core Worlds and depose the Corellian Confederation. Now in the wake of the Dark Empire’s Operation Shadow Hand, it would now serve as the headquarters of Grand Admiral Sularen as he prepared to lead the Imperial Navy in future campaigns against the Galactic Alliance.
As Imperial Forces begin to renovate and restore the Fortress, Grand Admiral Sularen stood in an empty room which would soon serve as his future office examining a series of reports and holonet reels covering recent events that had caught his attention delivered to him, which the Grand Admiral believed have a big impact on the future of the Empire even if at first glance they would appear as small and insignificant occurrences at least to the eyes of the more political-oriented members of the Imperial Tribunal. Among this vast collection of information included ISB Reports covering events that had occurred on worlds that had been touched by the Dark Empire. Worlds such as Carlac where a unit of Stormtroopers had been found dead by the hands of Jedi, Empress Teta where Alliance partisans continued to resist the Imperial occupation while thousands of civilians had fled Imperial rule and most notably Onderon where Jenn Kryze, the Alor of the Mandalorian Clan Kryze was made a knight of Onderon by it’s Queen who made proclamations of vengeance against the Dark Empire along the say.
As the Grand Admiral continued examining every bit of information the ISB had managed to gather for him, his assistant Colonel Rackham entered the room. "Sir, you called for me?” the Colonel asked. “Yes, Colonel.” Sularen said, turning to his longtime aide. “Tell me what do you think about all of this” the Grand Admiral asked, pointing to the collection of reports and news reels displayed in front of him. Rackham took some time to examine them before offering his response. “I would say, a collection of random information concerning our enemies in the Core.” Rackham answered. “But knowing you I'd assume you believe it's more then just that” the Colonel added. “Correct.” Sularen answered. “What you’re seeing here will go completely unnoticed by the Tribunal at least with the exception of the ongoing insurgency on Empress Teta. But even then to them, what’s happening there would only be a minor inconvenience to the Empire.” Sularen explained. “And…you think these aren’t just minor occurrences of little concern to the Empire?” Rackham inquired once more, somewhat curious to hear what the Grand Admiral had in his mind. “Oh these are more than just minor occurrences, they are all connected and could be a good indicator of what we can expect from our foes moving forward.” Sularen began.
“The Insurgency on Empress Teta, Jedi Incursions on Carlac and a Proudly Defiant Onderon, what do they all have in common?” Sularen asked. Rackham took some time searching for an answer but before he could speak, Sularen answered his own question for Rackham. “They all represent hope, Colonel. The idea that the light will not succumb to the dark no matter how hard tries to extinguish it. We conquered Teta yet the Alliance fought on, we rose on Carlac yet the Jedi still managed to slip in, evacuated resistance leaders and got out, and on Onderon despite our brief occupation they stood proudly ready to join the Alliance to get their revenge against our Empire.” Sularen went on. “Hope is the death of Empires, and what we’re witnessing is the first cracks forming, even if they are small. If left unchecked they will grow with every little action carried out by those who oppose us, actions that will go unnoticed by the higher-ups in the Tribunal.” the Grand Admiral further proclaimed. “Sooner or later, those cracks will grow large enough and by the time the Tribunal notices, it will be too late and the entire Empire will be consumed. Unless…we take decisive action to seal the cracks before they can grow larger.”
Rackham stood there silent as the Grand Admiral went on, explaining about his concerns about these events. Even then, with Sularen’s expose he still remained oblivious to why the Grand Admiral had summoned him. “And exactly how do you plan on handling this, sir?” Rackham asked. “By initiating Project Shadow Hand” Sularen responded. “From here we will begin our operations to dismantle our enemies and counteract their efforts to undermine us, starting by handling the resistance at Empress Teta and the defiant fools in Onderon.” the Grand Admiral proclaimed.
“But first, we will have to set up things to ensure that everything goes exactly as planned.” Sularen added. “While I begin gathering the necessary assets to begin Project Shadow Hand, I need you to visit a few worlds and check on the status of our operations there.” The Grand Admiral said, handing Rackham a small datapad containing a list of planets in which the Grand Admiral’s forces had established a presence on, both Imperial and neutral. “We are already far behind schedule and have suffered way too many delays, Colonel. Any further interruptions to our plans must be dealt with swiftly and without hesitation As such you’ll be granted access to my Red Right Hand and other critical assets to ensure the success of your mission” the Grand Admiral continued.
Upon receiving his orders, the Colonel simply nodded and proceeded to inquire more on his task. “Understood sir. Is there anything else you would require from me?” Rackham asked. “No, that will be all.” Sularen said. With that Rackham would leave the room, leaving the Grand Admiral to his schemes and plots. As Sularen returned to his thoughts he was reminded of one of the quotes from the legendary Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn “History is on the move. Those who cannot keep up will be left behind, to watch from a distance. And those who stand in our way will not watch at all.”. A quote that would echo in his mind as he grew more determined to lead the Empire towards victory in the struggle to come.
