The Line in the Sand; The Imperial Dominion of Rothana

[Lemon]

Desmond never seemed all that pleased within the company of Fett, and rightfully so, one who could act so freely and be paid so well whilst still garnering more fame then the Imperial was definitely something to have a grudge over. Though as for the Bounty Hunter, he didn't seem to care at all, he only saw these people when he was earning his money. All they were to him were temporary colleagues. He wasn't loyal to the Empire, he wasn't a servant. They were merely a super power that could afford his exorbitant prices, and for now, they would do. His only loyalty was to that of himself. Once the risk outweighed the reward, it would be time to jump ship. If the Galactic Empire ever went down the wormhole, it wouldn't be too long before he found himself within the employ of another warring faction.

Though for now he was paired with the squad of Death Troopers. A strange bunch that he'd been alongside before. They could speak to each other but never did, and when it came to Fett, they never spoke at all. The garbled vocoder made things a little difficult in all honesty. That suited the Bounty Hunter just fine, he was never one for conversations anyways. The only sound that seemed to be coming from the group of fourteen was that of squishy footsteps on the organic material of the floor. Surely enough, all their suits would be sealed in order to avoid the putrid stench. Nothing necessarily caught his eye, all of it was a mess, and it all looked the same. The only thing that was certain was that they needed to keep going up, whichever way that may be in this unknown maze of a starship.

If the conditions were dark, or bright, it didn't matter. The Mandalorian Helmet was capable of adjusting the lighting to make it perfect at an instant. The same cannot be said for everyone else, however. The Carbine was held in his hands, carelessly across his chest as his vision was occasionally diverted to his motion scanners. If anything other than the group would be picked up, then perhaps someone else was around. That wouldn't be too good now would it? Although, Mandalorian Crushgaunts were quite capable against the Vong if the information he read was any but reliable. Guess we'll have to see.

[member="DT-2417"]

 

[Aryn Teth]

Athena

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Unidentified Starship, Rothana System, Quiberon Sector, The Outer Rim Territories​

Interacting With: [member='Desmond C'artyom']​

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Athena merely watched the Chiss as he spoke, she noted the melancholy tone to his voice and the irritation he held in regards to herself and Fett was easy enough to see. It was something she was used to, many Imperials had a sour taste for individuals such as her and Fett, when she had been around more often, she had often heard Imperials officers speaking ill of her behind her back, even planning 'unfortunate accidents' for her to befall. It never bothered her, and in the rare instance that an officer had actually tried anything detrimental to Athena's health, that had usually ended up backfiring. Carefully, Athena's gaze drifted over the others who were there, they were all of little consequence to Athena. The Inquisitor was a dull affair to Athena, the Inquisitorius had always disinterested her, and in Athena's eyes they had few examples of anyone truly worthy of her interest and attention. The Death troopers were similar, effective soldiers, but far too rigid in their operating procedures, too little adaptability for Athena's liking. The Sith was attractive, and intriguing, but offered little else in that moment, Athena had not seen how she operated, and so no tactical analysis was yet forthcoming.

As the orders were given, Athena listened in silence, running mental calculations and diagnostics of the numerous systems which ran through her body, the different cybernetic weapons and enhancements, of which she did her best to consider which ones would be most useful in the coming mission. There was a brief pang of irritation for Athena as she realized she would not be operating alongside Fett. While she was interested in undermining him, at that moment her main focus was on watching him, she wished to see how he really operated in person. Regardless, the bounty hunter had not been her primary motivation for coming out of hiding, this vessel had been what interested her, and she would see that dealt with first and foremost, before she worried about her competition.

As the Chiss approached her and indicated she was to move with him, Athena gave little more than a nod, keeping her weapon at the ready as she shifted in behind him and the troopers. Mentally, she began to scan one of the many members of Desmond's unit, she doubted her disguise matrix would be needed at any point of the operation, but she always made an effort to have it ready, at very least - the disguise would perhaps let the Chiss forget that he was working alongside a bounty hunter. However, the Chiss's concerns and irritations were certainly not one of Athena's primary concerns, her gaze focused intently ahead as she kept her weapon at the ready for any possible threats.

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

Nadia noted his name as well as his reaction, or lack thereof, to be addressed as 'Lord'. This disinterest gave her the feeling that he wasn't particularly keen on the moniker, perhaps he felt that he hadn't earned it? She didn't dare push the matter further, instead opting to follow the man as they left the hangar bay where the others were setting off on their own missions. The pureblood peeked into the dim room after Varik had opened the door to it, scanning it for anything other than the usual organic growths.

Once he had asked his question, she noticed the temperature change but didn't seem to mind it at all. In truth, she actually had grown to prefer the cold especially after years on Selvaris, a planet where twin suns developed hot, tropical jungles; at any rate, the cold was a nice break from all of this. "I didn't learn how to use the Force, I just could." She stated matter-of-factly "I train to keep that ability sharp, and I read to add new techniques to its arsenal."

The woman motioned HK-47 to enter the room first, which he did so with his disruptor rifle raised at eye level. The flashlights on his head emerged from hidden compartments and flickered on, illuminating areas of the room with assistance from the light on his rifle. Not waiting for the apathetic inquisitor to make his move, the Sith moved in after the droid, her hips gyrating slightly as she unclasped her lightsaber from her belt. "Conclusion: The organic composition of the vessel has rendered both motion and bio-sensors inoperable." HK-47 cautioned "Visual scanning produces no sign of enemy meatbags."

She looked back at [member="Varik Ice"], a small smile playing on her lips as she waited for him to enter the room as well.

 

[Kirk Skobra]

The YZ-775 Medium Transport inched through the hangar bay shields that vanguarded the hangar from the dreaded vacuum of space. Having been well-prepared before making their entrance into the ship's hangar, the weapon mounted systems and diligent clone crew on the ship that were as ready as always if the event of being fired upon. Concurrently, the pilot and co-pilot roles were filled by two clones, whilst Skobra asserted himself as the captain as a result of himself being the buyer-patron of the clones. Skobra held a thick cigarra pinched in between his fingers, having just finished taking a drag from it, and in his other hand, crisply held a DT-57 Heavy Blaster Pistol. "Engage landing systems.", ordered he, "As soon as we land, I want immediate three-sixty coverage. Eight will follow me further inside, eight will stay, and provide ship-site security."

As the ship landed, roughly sixteen Deshra External Soldiers briskly shuffled out down the landing ramp, meanwhile, Kirk had walked back off further around the Captain's platform, placing a hand to his earpiece; "In case my handler was incompetent, this is the Bounty Hunter, Kirk Skobra.", spoke Kirk, introducing himself, "I'll be operating in the area under the jurisdiction and contract of Imperial Intelligence. I've sent a photo-ID of my boys to your PDAs that'll be with me; I don't want any excuses for friendly fire. We're all on the same side. Skobra, out."

Kirk then marched down and out of the YZ-775 Medium Transport with his DC-17m Interchangeable Weapon System in tow. Kirk was greeted by the sight of a crisp three-sixty perimeter provided by his clone-soldiers around the circumference of the shuttle. One-by-one, Kirk knocked on the back of the shoulders of the henchmen he wanted to follow him, as the rest of robustly well-disciplined soldiers compensated their numbers being effectively halved by 'closing the gaps', so to speak, as the other half trailed off in a fireteam lead by Skobra. The fireteam proceeded forward in a staggered column, as they descended further through the inner-complex of the mysterious ship. Smoothly, each of the soldiers held their K07-E7 Blaster Rifles at their shoulders, as they staggered through like this were any run-of-the-mill simulation. Skobra's concurrent mindset was business-like and briskly incisive, as likely attributed to his many years of experience. He was in no mood for games, and neither were the clone soldiers that were more than prepared to kill-on-sight.

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Inquisitor Robes​

Location: Mysterious Ship​

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Varik kept his eyes straight forward as the Sith strolled in and drew her lightsaber. Damned chiss. Had C'artyom needed to point things out, that he could have simply ignored. Irritation showed on his face for a moment, but not due to that. There was no shatterpoint or crack, not that he could see. They would have to do this the hard way. He stepped in after HK and Nadia, his eyes glancing around the room in case he caught anything the droid missed. "It's always easier to learn with someone else."

He spoke from experience. He believed that true with many things, not just the force or the use of a lightsaber. Whether it had been hunting, tracking, survival instincts; having a companion made these things more real, helped them be a focus while you continued to learn. Whoever this red woman was, he could sense potential that hadn't been tapped, something deeper within. Perhaps she hadn't had her ability as long as she claimed - or she simply had other things to focus on. He supposed it was no matter to dwell on now.

He continued deeper into the room, not drawing his saber yet. He liked to wait until it was actually needed, after all. If he relied on this weapon, he'd find himself dead without it, something he'd begun to learn from Malvern. The body was as much a weapon as any tool, including the force. Realizing they had little time to waste, Varik moved through the door at the end of the room, leading to a corridor. The meaty parts of it continued to squelch and twitch, though the Inquisitor seemed quite nonplussed about it. He doubted he was doing to find a staircase or directions in here.

Ice walked at a brisk pace, assuming the prisoner and droid would be close behind him. There was an unusual calm to him; his body language and even feeling in the force gave off as though this was a household chore to him, something not to get concerned about. In truth, he understood how important this was, how many lives had been lost already. Not one more Imperial would die to this, if he had anything to say about it. Opening the door at the end of the fleshy corridor, Varik stepped through, his mind reaching out feelers to sense for traps; though his instincts and senses made him scan a room with his eyes as soon as he entered anyway. He looked to corners, exit, strategic cover and vantage points.

The room was empty for the most part, though something that looked vaguely like a terminal sat in a nearby corner. He couldn't tell if it were the remains of one or simply his mind playing tricks; if it was just a fleshy mass shaped like one, and his brain assumed. He glanced back, his eyes darting between HK and then Nadia - more out of curiosity than anything. Their reactions could be interesting. Perhaps the woman wouldn't know much about this, but the droid...even he knew that was a very, very old model. He must've seen quite a few things. "Ever seen anything like this in your experience?" 'Life' would have been an odd way to put it, after all. He doubted this droid was one to care about life.

[member="Nadia Vytuia"]

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Desmond C’artyom and Inferno One formed up in a loose group spread out across the halls, guns at the ready.

“Watch those vectors,” Desmond spoke into his comlink.

Although he needn't have too, his extensive cybernetics paired with those of the clones were more than enough to allow them to communicate more privately. Though Desmond spoke allowed, so that the other bounty hunter may hear. He was aware she had her own cybernetics, he could tell by the protrusions and scars on her forearms, but he was unawares as to how deeply they went. His cybernetic HUD was practically useless as it picked out a multitude of different lifeforms, all of which combined together to make the one ship.

He cursed inwardly and switched through a multitude of sensors as he made his way about the ship with squad. Then he received a transmission. Apparently [member="Kirk Skobra"] and his platoon had arrived. Mercs, almost as bad as bounty hunters. Trigger happy goons who felt big because they had a gun and no cause except the almighty credit. Desmond sighed a little and hailed Skorba.

“Greetings, I was unawares we’d have more company. Your objective will be to locate any pertinent data that the Empire can use,” Desmond ordered in his rich Imperial accent.

Whether the man had been told or not, having a reminder never hurt. Desmond scanned the bulbous bags of flesh and disgusting sacks of meat apprehensively. He had no clue what a reactor aboard this thing might look like. He turned to the merc and begrudgingly spoke. He had to be tactful about his words lest the Bounty hunter think him a fool. “My holo map is on the fritz,” Desmond said nonchalantly “Please take point and lead the way,” He ordered of [member="Athena"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

Part of her had sensed his reaction when she had sauntered into the room, the inquisitor having kept his eyes forward the entire time and avoiding glancing in her direction. She held onto this thought as Varik left the room and entered a corridor, her and her droid following close by as they trekked through the strange and horribly organic starship before soon enough entering another room at the end of their path.

Nadia tracked his gaze as he tactically analyzed the room, making note of anything he could have possibly missed until her eyes set upon the growth in the corner. It was weirdly shaped, but it was most likely another one of the writhing masses that dotted the architecture of the alien vessel. She heard the man speak to HK-47, the droid's head snapping towards the voice of the Imperial.

"Statement: I have seen many forms of machinery from many civilizations in my approximately four-thousand eight hundred and eleven years since assembly, this biotechnology here correlates with only one description in my database. " The droid notified "Unfortunately, the name of such a thing has been corrupted due to the high presence of moisture in the crystal caves of Ilum and my former state of disrepair."

The pureblood gave a sheepish smile "It's a long story..." She admitted. HK approached the fleshy mass in the corner, intent on analyzing it for further research until he sank almost a foot into the 'floor'. "Miffed Exclamation: Sithspit!" He cursed, visibly trying to pull himself out to no avail. Nadia rushed forward and bent over, tugging at the droid leg. Remembering that the droid had a body composed of phrik, she activated her lightsaber and cautiously burned the fleshy material off of his body.

Satisfied with her work, she straightened up and subsequently realized that the inquisitor was behind her. Behind her, while she was bent over, in scanty prisoner clothing. Knowing how he was going to behave, and believing it was her chance to have a bit of fun: she turned and looked right at him.

"Is something the matter, Varik?" Nadia questioned innocently, emphasizing his name.

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Desmond C’artyom grumbled to himself disconcertingly as he tried to remember the path to the reactor. But then, Ghoul piped up and offered to lead the way

“I’ll take point sir,” The clone said mischievously.

Desmond only hoped he truly knew the way, Ghoul had a tendency to improvise. Considering he was the squad's explosive expert this had gotten them into quite a few jams before. Regardless Desmond supposed he had no choice, but to put his trust in the arsonist agent. Inferno One remained fanned out, spreading themselves wide and scanning the ships halls for any hostiles.

“Watch those corners,” Desmond said to his team as they traversed the fleshy corridors.

Enemies could be lurking anywhere and Desmond had died one too many times to not be wary of ambushes. Guns shifted about as they constantly scanned their surroundings. Desmond’s finger never strayed to far from the trigger. He had never met a Yuuzhan Vong before, but he had heard plenty of stories. Masochist who would peel the skin off your back just so they could get their rocks off. Desmond suppressed a shudder.

“Sir, I think i’ve found it!” Ghoul cried out unnecessarily. The Vong reactor was a sickening large glowing, pulsating, tower of flesh.

It smelled terrible. Like the thing was recycling all of the creatures that made up this ship’s waste and that’s what it was using for power. Desmond spied cracks in it’s course skin and noted the yellow and white pus oozing out of them. The thing was infected. He watched as one of the small cyst exploded, spewing pus, gunk, and various other liquids towards Inferno. Desmond nearly threw up. He unclipped his helmet from his waist and placed it onto his head. Immediately he was grateful for the air filtration system. Even so the faint smell of rotting flesh was prevalent.

“Ghoul begin planting explosives. Spectre, Phantom, Ghost, set up defensive positions around the reactor,” Desmond said as he hefted his own Disruptor rifle into the air with one arm. He only hoped the other teams completed their objectives as quickly. He had had enough fill of the vong to last him a lifetime.

[member="Athena"]

 

[Vestille Thumahra]

Rothana
851 ABY
DT-2417
Call-sign Pestilence Actual
Post Four
Objective: Assist Koda Fett with locating the bridge.

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Into what one could only describe as a horror show. Organic matter was everywhere; on the floors, on the ceiling, no part of the vessel seemed clean or metallic. A ship that appeared living as much as civilians that Pestilence had observed making their ways around the streets, rebels that they had both engaged and killed, fellow Imperials that they had fought alongside. Whilst it wasn't a breathtaking experience of a revelation that shocked the Death Troopers to their very core, it simply confirmed that they had come packed with the right equipment for the right parameters. As Pestilence moved along the ship's hallways alongside the Bounty Hunter, they would soon find themselves approaching what DT-2417 could only guess to be a door or something along the lines that served the same purpose. In truth, the sight was little more than an organic blockage that looked as if it would spread itself to allow passage through it.

No doubt, this caused a problem; most doors had a keypad or a motion sensor to open it, though this was a long way from a usual door on a usual ship. Slicing through it seemed out of the question and simply walking up to it seemed like it would have null effect. With improvisation, perhaps just mixed in with a little bit of common sense at the same time, DT-2417 quickly barked out his orders through the garbled communications as Pestilence formed up in a unique breaching position. Those armed with flamethrowers took a knee in-front of a firing line, all guns armed towards the supposed door. Upon the order, the flamers opened up, spewing their lightened fuel at the organic structure. With the sudden intense heat that persisted, the door seemed to quiver and open up for access, revealing what was on the other side...

Several Vong appeared in the continuing fleshy hallway, noticing the intruders making their entry through force and fire; several yells in their native tongue followed... And were silenced. Unlike many, who would flinch and be hesitant to do anything for a few moments upon encountering a species that they had never met before, Pestilence shared no sentiments in regards to curiosity. They were here for a job, one that did not give room for error or hesitation. With the few unknown entities hit with Disruptor fire and turning to ash right before Pestilence's and the Bounty Hunter's eyes, the path was clear for them to continue. A bridge needed to be found and whatever they could find needed to be extracted. One could only think that the bridge would look like and if it even had anything worth taking; the whole ship was organic, after all, no sign of electronics. How did the Vong even store data?

DT-2417 was quick to snap away from pondering and refocused himself at the task at hand. He rallied the troops and ordered the advance, deeper into the belly of the beast.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Inquisitor Robes​

Location: Mysterious Ship​

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Varik mentally cursed Imperial dress protocols. He was going to have to speak with an officer regarding how prisoners were clothed and situated; this was distracting, far more than necessary. He tried to focus on moving through the room and towards the terminal-like appendage in the corner, but this alien was very good at diverting his attention like this. He now audibly sighed at her question, glad he was wearing robes. He looked toward her eyes, his face twitching towards an expression for a fleeting moment before it was back to the flat, cold state. "How long this is taking."

As he approached the odd thing, he was just glad that he was wearing robes, glancing back in the woman's direction for a moment as he cursed in his head. He had tried not to rise to it, but if she wasn't the type to give up, then he probably only made her feel challenged and encouraged her. Once the mission was over, though- no, focus on the mission at hand. It was as he tried to drive the thoughts from his head that he heard an odd, organic noise that sounded similar to a door opening. He turned to his right, and to the figure next to him.

He hadn't felt a presence, and couldn't even tell that had been a door. He was lucky that he glanced in that direction as he tried to shake things off; his instincts kicked in as he saw the creature with what looked like a spear - that was more familiar to him. His hand extended as he turned sideface towards the Vong, reducing his size as a target while his lightsaber flew into his hand. Whoever this was, and he seemed important by the decorations on his repulsive armour, he hadn't thought to wear a helmet.

The white blade ignited, extending outwards through the open mouth of the roaring Vong who now had the blade searing through the back of his mouth and out the back of his head; the steam and smell of burning flesh came from him as he fell to his knees, the spear still in his hand as it tried to morph and change shape, only for Ice's foot to kick it aside, out of his hand. He tilted his saber and leaned it forward, tilting the Vong's head back. Varik leaned forward, staring the warrior in the face, his body shaking from the pain. It was a miracle he was alive at all, and the Inquisitor could tell from the defiant expression; whoever this was, they weren't interested in talking. He pushed the blade deeper, searing even more as the creature finally seemed to go limp and either pass out from the pain or expire right there. He deactivated the blade as the Vong slumped to the ground.

Ice was glad he'd had the chance to see his enemy first-hand; they were melee fighters, and he couldn't rely on the force. It was simply a fight that tested arms and the will to survive; he was more than used to that. He glanced over to Nadia and HK, giving the Sith the closest thing to a held-back smirk anyone had gotten so far. "I think we're getting closer." He stepped through the doorway into a far more fleshy corridor, one where he couldn't even see the walls or floor properly, and he heard a hum nearby; it had to be what this thing called an engine.

[member="Nadia Vytuia"]

 

[Aryn Teth]

Athena

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Unidentified Starship, Rothana System, Quiberon Sector, The Outer Rim Territories​

Interacting With: [member='Desmond C'artyom']​

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Athena's life-form scanners had already been deactivated as she followed along behind C'artyom and the rest of Inferno One. She had spent the period of a long, uncomfortable silence to try and work on fixing and adjusting the scanners to ignore the organic structure of the ship, but it seemed impossible, and so she eventually gave up on the endeavour as she moved along with the others, her weapon kept close to her and ready at all times. She said nothing, and for the most part ignored the new voice that came over their comms, allowing C'artyom his reply before she heard the order from his lips. She made no move to head in a direction, or to even reply to the request. Athena had no idea the way to the reactor, and knew any path she took the group down had just the same likelihood of getting them even more lost.

Luckily, one of the clones seemed eager to show off, and so insisted they would take point. Still silent, Athena followed along behind the group, seeming to care little for any discomfort or irritation at the nature of their surroundings, or her lack of knowledge on where they were or what they might encounter. What did irritate Athena was the lack of any company. They had not seen a single individual that might have been a member of this ships crew, or even anything that might have been remotely hostile since they boarded the ship. Athena had not come with the intention of killing, but rather satisfying her curiosity, but the lack of any seeming crew at that point was only serving to create more questions than answers.

 

[Lemon]

The Bounty Hunter continued to march through the fleshy halls of this Vong Ship, it's fleshy interior pulsating and creating mounds of biological material all over. It was a disgusting sight and Fett was certain the scent was worse, but for now he kept his helmet sealed in an attempt to avoid such a putrid thing. His eyes wandered as him and the Death Trooper team known as Pestilence delved deeper into the belly of the beast, but in reality they were reaching the top of the tower in a matter of speaking. The bridge was close by, easily identifiable by the increase in traffic and the higher density in life signals. Though of course they wouldn't remain present for long.

Fett approached the door, almost leaning against the wall but preventing himself from getting too close in the unlikely event he's sucked into it. His carbine in hand, taking a brief glance from beneath that T-Shaped Visor to see that his hand is perfectly linked up with it. His left hand wrapped around the barrel as the right seems to be slotted into the hole on the stock and over the trigger, just about ready for whatever was on the other side of the door.

Stepping in it's path, the door opening with a fleshy squelch as heads turning towards him, weaponless warriors gave confused and odd-stares, seeing the same helmet, or the type at least, that fought against them all those years ago. In a combative yet firm stance bolts were fired from the blaster in threes as a finger rapidly slammed itself down over the trigger. The Vong got closer and closer as an overwhelming number charged forwards, but the combined fire from both Pestilence and the Bounty Hunter was too much and ultimately they fell.

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The bridge was secure but nothing seemed accessible by the humans aboard it, what to do next came unknown, so for now it seemed as if they would just hold down the fort.

[member="DT-2417"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

"Admiral, sir! We're getting a reading we don't understand!"

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A feeble report sounded from the crew pits as one of the residing ensigns looked up at the Epicanthix in abject confusion. Cardan pressed down a switch located on the arm of his command throne, bringing up the display from that console. From his initial observation, something within the nebulae was stirring, dissipating it at an alarming rate. "Commander, open a channel to the rest of the fleet." Gromm hesitated, eyeing the anomaly in the distance.

"This is Vice Admiral Cardan, all ships proceed to Grid 51-5. Defensive Formation Grek-Alpha-Two." He avowed, watching the gaseous cloud roll out of view as his command ship manoeuvred to rendezvous with the rest of his fleet. No contact had been made with the teams dispatched to the alien object since their departure from the Providence, in truth Cardan didn't know if this was due to their supposed radio silence or if they had been killed by God knows what.

Then he saw it.

A massive, rivalling even that of the Providence, battlecruiser emerging from the nebulae and moving towards the armada of Imperial warships. It wasn't like anything he had ever seen before: what should've been uniform corners were disorganized spheres, what should've been metal was flesh. It was an atrocity, an insult to the collective engineering feats of starship architects across the Galaxy. It was the object that razed an expeditionary force in mere seconds, an object that made even the fiercest of Rothanan militiamen cower in fear at the mere mention of such a thing.

Cardan pulled at the suddenly tight collar of his uniform, a small bead of sweat dribbling down from his forehead. This was uncharacteristic of him, a decorated Imperial admiral, but even he was terrified of facing this thing. "Beam a transmission to Grand Admiral Graf and do it now..." He paused, mentally articulating his message while the communications officer waited patiently.

"Tell him we have engaged the Yuuzhan Vong."​

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To Be Continued...​