Greetings fellow star wars and halo fans, this story will be set before the events of halo 4 and after the empire strikes back. It will be a mix of canon/legends/AU with a few OCs in it. I hope you will enjoy it.

3ABY

SSD Executor, Darth Vader's personal chambers

Sullust, Sullust system

Darth Vader was alone in his chambers aboard the super star destroyer Executor. His hunt for the Rebel Alliance had been with results as his troops took care of the last remaining rebels on the planet Sullust. He had been forced to go down only one time to the hot planet and just his presence had broken many of the rebels. When the day was over and he was back on his flagship the rebels had essentially lost. Their base destroyed. Their weapons destroyed. Their ships destroyed. But most importantly, their resolve had been destroyed. The locals were sympathetic to the rebels before he arrived but now they were staunch followers of the Empire.

It was common for him to immediately report to the Emperor. Sidious was very clear on the control he had over his apprentice but this time it was different. The Emperor had sent a message to the ship stating that Vader had to contact him as soon as possible. Beneath the dark and cold mask Vader frowned. If the Emperor wanted to see him right away then it had to be important. Usually he would let Vader do whatever his task was but when the Emperor wanted to see him as soon as possible it was usually something that was either a threat or a possible threat.

Vader ceased his musings and stood up from his seat in his meditation room. He slowly went down the steps and stood at the circular spot that would activate the holoprojector. Vader knelt down as the projector activated revealing the large projection of his master. From beneath the dark hood Sheev Palpatine, known as the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, but also known as Darth Sidious regarded his apprentice with the same look as usual. Only this time one could see a strange glint in his eyes.

"What is thy bidding my master?" Came Vader's usual baritone voice.

"Lord Vader," Sidious began with his cold tone that sends chills down a man's spine "are the rebels on Sullust done for?"

"Yes my master, my troops are dealing with the remainders as we speak. They will be completely wiped out within the rotation." Vader answered.

"Well done my old friend. The Rebellion is on the run now and will be unable to do anything any time soon. However I have foreseen a new threat. One that surpasses this pitiful Rebel Alliance." The Emperor said with a scowl on his face.

Vader looked up at him and asked, "A new threat my master?"

"Indeed lord Vader." The Emperor nodded and added "They live in the unknown regions and upon my order probe droids were sent there. It is how I learned of a human coalition named the United Earth Government. The droids were able to gather intel without revealing themselves. This UEG as they call themselves has multiple worlds, all of them with human citizens, without knowing of us just as we knew nothing of them."

Vader wondered how such a human coalition could have gone unnoticed. It would make sense that no one found them. The unknown regions were hardly explored with the conflicts raging on in their galaxy. Now however there was a state of peace with the Empire's presence making explorations more possible than before.

"I take it you see them as a possible threat?" Vader inquired carefully. His master would be displeased if he said that there was the possibility of him being scared of another power.

Fortunately the Emperor merely nodded. "Indeed my apprentice. If left unchecked this UEG could expand its power base and expand to our galaxy. I do not doubt that the Empire can handle them in military might but I dislike surprises. I have already tasked Imperial Intelligence to investigate this new player and gather as much info on them as possible. More than our initial probe droids have found out. I expect a report very soon and let me make it clear that I am not happy about the prospect of another government next to mine." Palpatine explained with his constant scowl.

Vader nodded in understanding and said "You wish to conquer this UEG." It was more of a statement than anything. Sidious gave a small smirk to the remark.

"To secure the Empire's continuation we must destroy any opponent. When I have learned more of our new neighbor I will formulate a plan to attack them. The reason why I contacted you immediately is because of your upcoming role in my plan. When you are done on Sullust you will head to Kuat before coming to me on Coruscant. You will arrange the mobilization of the fleet at Kuat and when you're here on Coruscant you will aid me in the battle plan. Other high ranking officers such as grand admiral Thrawn will be present. Time is of the essence lord Vader. If we have found our new enemy then there's a chance they have already found us or will in the future." Sidious told his apprentice.

"I will leave as soon as possible my master. What about the Rebels?" Vader asked thinking about a certain pilot. Sidious paused for a second and then smiled at his apprentice.

"Do not worry my old friend. Your efforts to crush the Rebellion have gained more results than I would have hoped of. The Rebellion is so weakened and ill-equipped at the moment that they are nothing more of a slight nuisance. Not to forget the efforts of the late grand general Tagge and mine in expanding both the imperial army and navy. We have the resources to wage war lord Vader. It is about time we did so." Sidious said leaning back in his chair.

Vader bowed once more and said "It will be done my master."

The Emperor nodded and proceeded to shut the holoprojector off. Vader rose from his kneeling position and hissed at the pain that he felt in doing so. He went back to his meditation seat and activated the communication screen on the wall. After putting in a few codes the visage of admiral Piett appeared. The admiral was sitting at his desk with a datapad in hand but he quickly placed it on his desk and stood at attention.

"My lord, what can I do for you?" Piett asked while giving a slight bow. Piett was one of the competent officers that Vader actually liked and respected. The man had proven his worth whereas others had achieved their station through wealth and politics. So far Piett had booked results which kept him on Vader's good side.

"Once business is concluded on the planet we will set course for Kuat immediately. I want us out of this system within the rotation. Make this your priority admiral." Vader commanded. The admiral seemed to be nervous but Vader recognized it as a habit the admiral had. Piett knew what would happen if he failed and therefore was nervous. A trait that served him well since it motivated him to work harder and meet Vader's high expectations.

"Yes my lord, I shall do so at once." Piett answered dropping whatever he was doing on his datapad and making way for the bridge.

With that taken care of, Vader let the hatch of his meditation chamber close so he could prepare himself. Once it was fully closed the machine inside removed his helmet. Darth Vader took a deep breath, glad to be free of his mask again.

November 5, 2556

Outskirts of Groretsk, Groretsk sand plains

Talitsa, Sverdlovsk system

"Did you find anything?" Corporal Anthon asked his fellow squad mate.

"Nope, only sand as far as you can see with the occasional rock." PFC Mathews answered with annoyance.

The corporal beside him nudged him. "I thought you were happy to be away from base for once." He said playfully.

Mathews grumbled, "At least I don't get sand everywhere there. Why are we even here? The comm tower had some glitches but since when is that enough reason to send a whole marine squad to investigate?"

The others thought of the orders they had received an hour ago back at the base close to Groretsk. The base's commander had received word from the comm center that one of the communication towers was acting up. With the possible insurgents sneaking around he did not want to take any chances. It could be an effect from the meteor that impacted the night before but it had to be investigated. The UNSC couldn't get sloppy even with the human-covenant war being over for three years. Insurrectionists were still around and it was the job of the marines to keep an eye out. Therefore a marine squad was sent out to investigate the comm tower. Upon arrival the technician that came along began working on the tower while the marines guarded and searched the area.

"Mathews is right, so far there has been nothing here. Not even an insurrectionist or even a lizard." Private Delano remarked with a dull tone.

"Well something banged up the comm tower. If the commander wants us to find out what then we'll just have to look around somewhat. I mean it's not like we're detectives." Anthon told them. He had to admit that even he was getting annoyed. There was absolutely nothing to do.

"If you're all so fed up with standing around you could give me a hand." The technician spoke up from beneath the access panel of the comm tower.

Delano shrugged and grabbed some of the repair tools. He then laid them out so the technician could grab them easily. The boy pulled a screwdriver out of the heap and started working on a certain part that seemed to be sparking.

"Making any progress yet Robbie?" Mathews asked the technician that fixed most things at the base. The kid wasn't exactly old and did most certainly not look his age. But that was part of the innocent look as they said at the base. If one had a problem then Robbie knew how to fix it.

"Almost done. Whatever caused the damage must have been poking around the circuitry. Give me a minute or two and I'll have it working. Then we can check if someone has accessed it." Robbie said cheerfully. His mood was contagious and seemed to cheer up others.

Mathews smiled and said "Well, keep up the good work kid. You're my fastest ticket out of here so I'm not going to cause any trouble."

"Looks like the sarge is back." Anton remarked.

A Warthog drove by the fence and halted at the other one. Unlike the other one which was a simple troop Warthog, this one was equipped with the standard M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun. The driver stepped out along with the sergeant who had taken shotgun. Ironically the sergeant actually carried a shotgun with him. The driver carried her MA5B assault rifle on her back. The gunner stayed on the MG but just like the driver carried her BR55 battle rifle on her back.

"Finally back with the girls sarge?" Mathews joked earning a slap on the head.

"Cut the jokes Mathews or I'll make a joke about you landing in the med bay." Cassandra grunted crossing her arms.

Mathews rolled his eyes and said "Oh come on, a little joke is fine. It's not like there is anything else to do."

The middle aged sergeant placed his shotgun over his shoulder and glared at him. "I could always order you to go around the fence and look for any holes. In fact why don't you do that private Mathews?" He said with a grin at the end. A grin that the others shared.

"Do I have to?" Mathews groaned.

"Don't make me force you Mathews." The sergeant said gripping his shotgun more tightly.

The gunner started cheering "Here comes the shotgun to the face! A sergeant Hill special!"

"You could have just listened dude." Delano said shaking his head.

"Go for it sarge." Cassandra told the leader.

Mathews looked at Anton for aid but his squad mate only smiled at him.

"Why thanks guys. I really appreciate the support." He grit out but left before the threat could be realized.

"Better get a move on Mathews." The Warthog's gunner remarked with a wide grin.

Mathews flipped her off and muttered "Up yours Jessica."

With that done Hill turned towards the technician that just crawled out from under the access panel.

"Anything worth reporting?" He asked the young fixer.

"Only that someone has been studying the inner workings and accidentally knocked some of the circuitry loose. I don't get why someone would do that though. The workings of a comm tower are basics." Robbie reported as he removed his tools. He turned he panel on and started looking at the screen.

Hill then turned to Anthon. "What about you guys?"

"Nothing sir. We couldn't find any signs of someone being here. No footprints or any other tracks." Anthon replied.

"That's strange." Hill muttered.

"This is quite strange too sir if I may say so." Robbie said while typing away at the panel. His statement gained the attention of the Marines.

"What do you mean Robbie?" Delano asked curiously.

The young technician scratched his head before replying "Well for starters someone definitely accessed the tower. Whoever did so looked at literally everything there is to see. He or she made a connection to the internet providers in the city and researched history along with other standard things you can look up on the internet. Then there are messages ranging from civilians to those of the authorities. It's as if the guy was on a mad information quest."

"Whoa, whoa wait a moment." Cassandra intervened waving her hands. "You mean that this tower was used to get some Wi-Fi?"

"Well there is also the fact that the few military transmissions were accessed as well but I don't think our fugitive could really see anything. All military files and messages are encrypted. You'd need to be a machine to decipher everything." Robbie said and shut the panel off.

"It doesn't matter right now. What we're going to do is report this to the commander. Let's get back to base." Hill ordered and started walking towards the Warthog.

Delano went to Cassandra and whispered "I bet ten bucks that ONI spooks are going to investigate this."

"Make it twenty." Cassandra answered.

The marines all went back to the Warthogs but just as they were going to call Mathews a shout echoed throughout the area. The marines stopped and with a quick command from Hill they ran back to the tower. When they arrived they saw Mathews lying on the dusty ground at the fence. Delano walked up to him and checked his pulse. His eyes widened as he felt nothing. He turned the dead marine over and gasped softly at the look in his dead squad mate's eyes. Mathews' entire face was contorted in surprise and horror.

"Jesus Christ mate." Anthon said softly.

"How did this happen?!" Hill demanded as he crouched and checked the corpse himself.

Cassandra then noticed a scorch mark on his neck. "Sir what is this?"

"Damn, something burned straight through his neck." Anthon whispered.

"And I wonder what did this." Hill said as he looked around.

Robbie walked around searching for clues and opened one of the containers. He grabbed the flashlight that was clipped to his belt full with tools. The technician turned it on to come face to face with some sort 1.6 meters tall machine that was floating inside the container. Robbie shouted out in alarm turning around to move away. The machine made some sort of hiss and floated forward with haste. The six arms on its underside grabbed the boy with one of them stabbing itself in his neck. Robbie gave a muffled scream as electricity surged through his body. Within a few seconds he seized shuddering and slumped down. The same look of horror and surprise he had seen on Mathews' face was now etched on his.

The imperial Viper probe droid fled the scene as soon as possible and flew across the small installation. It's antenna was buzzing with the intel it was transferring to the imperial stealth vessel that hid close to the system. It evaded containers and other equipment all to escape the humans it had identified as marines. Its mission to download intel and find out as much as possible had been a great success. The arrival of the probe droid had been done so under the disguise as a meteor storm. Finding an access point to the natives their communication network had been more difficult yet possible. Now everything the probe droid had learned was being sent to the stealth ship.

The probe droid was about to leave the perimeter but crashed into one of the Marines. The droid was knocked back by the force but the human fell on the ground. The droid could see the companions of the marine ran towards them so it fled again.

"Get it! It killed Robbie as well!" Delano yelled running as fast as he could with his weapon in hand.

"What the hell is that thing?" Anthon asked while sprinting forward.

The droid saw it was being pursued by the marines and had no choice but to open fire. A smaller arm came out from the beneath the droid with a blaster attached to it. it aimed at the pursuing marines and fired red laser bolts at them.

"Whoa watch out!" Cassandra yelled as she dived behind a boulder to avoid getting shot.

Delano grunted and aimed his assault rifle. He lined his rifle up with the fleeing droid before opening fire. Series of bullets left the weapon and coursed towards the droid. The Viper probe droid saw the attack coming so it began evasive maneuvers. It learned very quickly that dodging bullets was more difficult than dodging a laser bolt. One of them hit its camera shattering the glass. Survival chances were getting slim so it went past cover and sped up the upload process.

"Keep it occupied while I flank it." Anthon told his companions.

The Marine ran a different path that if he remembered correctly would cut the machine off. He gripped his rifle tighter as thoughts of Mathews and Robbie filled his mind. The sergeant wanted the piece of scrap mostly intact but that didn't mean he wasn't going to shoot it first. He crouched behind one of the sandy rocks with the intention of stopping the unknown machine. Seconds went by before Anthon heard the familiar buzzing of the machine. As it came closer he readied himself.

The probe droid had just sent almost all of the acquired intel but then a marine popped out of cover halting it. The droid was stunned for a moment but its processor analyzed the threat. The droid proceeded to turn its blaster at the marine but was too late. The marine opened fire with a projectile rifle shredding the chassis of the probe droid apart. With most of its body destroyed the droid fell on the ground.

"I got it!" Anthon yelled out to his fellow soldiers.

The rest of the squad jogged towards them and then the droid realized it was about to fall in enemy hands. Programming installed within the droid dictated that all Imperial Intelligence probe droids could not fall in enemy hands. With that simple rule the droid activated a last resort measure.

The other marines were about to reach the machine and Anthon who was standing right next to it but were forced to stop when the droid activated the last resort measure. The droid went up in flames as the self-destruct initiated. Anthon was dead before he knew it as not only his body burned but it was roughly thrown against a boulder because of the explosion's force. Hill cursed loudly seeing another one of his team slumped dead against the ground.

"He's dead." Cassandra confirmed as she checked up on him.

Hill sighed and looked at the burning scrap. "Let's call in backup. Who know if there are any more of those things. Jessica you will comm the base. Cassandra and I will gather our fallen friends." He told the rest with a heavy heart.

The marines nodded wordlessly and did so as their sergeant ordered.

Near Talitsa

Imperial stealth ship

Captain Chajar Calkinn of Imperial Intelligence frowned aboard the stealth ship close to Talitsa. His mission granted to him by the emperor himself had been going smoothly until the native security arrived. The video feed he got from the probe droid showed the encounter with these 'UNSC Marines' as they were called. For a primitive the man had used some sort of slugthrower unlike any he had seen before. It was very advanced for such a weapon and had shredded the droid apart. Calkinn had been reading some of the intel as it was transferred to the vessel by the droid. It was quite surprising that the major native language called English was the same as Basic.

One of the things he had been reading was an article detailing a war between the now identified UEG and a group of genocidal aliens called the Covenant. Calkinn was baffled by the fact that this war had been going on for decades and that it had ended only a few years ago. How the UEG and its military branch the UNSC managed to defeat a far more superior foe was mind blowing. Part of the article contained actual videos of battles between the UNSC and the Covenant. Calkinn had seen a lot of aliens before but never those of this religious group. Especially the large 'Elites' were quite fearsome. Calkinn believed they were quite the match for Wookies. Still it was interesting to learn that the Covenant used plasma technology and that the humans used projectile weapons. A disadvantage for the UNSC.

It was too bad that all the information the probe had gathered was not all too enlightening on UNSC weapons. Calkinn understood the danger the advanced slugthrowers posed based on the scuffle between the probe droid and the marine but there had to be more. He had yet to find out about most planet locations, assault vehicles, starships and a lot of necessary intel. The emperor stressed out the retrieval of military intel but what Calkinn had gained by the use of probes and listening equipment was enough. Now that the humans were alerted on the presence of hostiles he had to leave.

"Sir, the last of our probes has sent all gathered intel. What should we do with the units?" An ensign asked from his station.

Calkinn stepped towards the ensign and rested his hand on the man's chair. "Move them towards concealed areas and initiate self-destruct. Since we can't retrieve them we'll just have to make sure no one finds them." He told the ensign who nodded.

After some commands and protocols activated the remaining probes all went to a hidden place before blowing up just like the last one did at the comm tower. After all probes were confirmed to be destroyed Calkinn went back to the cockpit of the corvette-sized stealth ship.

"Prepare the jump to hyperspace. Our destination is Terminus. From there we will take the hyperspace lane straight towards Coruscant." He ordered.

The pilot looked up and responded with "Yes sir."

The coordinates were put in the navigator and with a simple pull from a lever the ship entered hyperspace containing all gathered intel on the UEG.

Earth

Sydney

UNSC HIGHCOM facility bravo-6

Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood sat patiently in his chair at the table inside HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6. The security meeting with the rest of the highest ranking officials of the UNSC was called upon by head of ONI admiral Serin Osman. When Osman called for so many to attend to a security meeting it had to be a major issue. Hood thought about possible reasons why Osman gathered everyone at the facility. Perhaps the Storm Covenant was up to something major or an Insurrection threat was on the horizon. Hood pondered silently on what could be going on but his musings were interrupted when Osman took the stage.

"Welcome to this emergency meeting that I have organized concerning a space anomaly close to the colony world of Talitsa." Osman said activating a large screen showing graphics.

"These energy readings were taken by one of our new sensor arrays. These facilities are able to detect even the slightest indication of energy readings close to our space. While possible that it is simply a natural reaction we must remind ourselves that it is possible a different civilization passed there." Osman told the gathered committee.

Admiral Kovalic put his hand in the air and asked her, "Are you certain of this? Is there any evidence we really detected another civilization passing our borders?"

"I am. On the surface of Talitsa a communication tower was reported to have some sort of glitches. Due to its importance in the network a marine squad was sent to investigate. They found out that something tampered with the comm tower. In fact they encountered the one responsible." She explained and changed the view to that of the probe droid. The video taken from the marine's helmet cam played showing the droid in action.

"What is that?" Major General Nicolas Strauss asked portraying the confusion of the other officers.

Osman froze the screen and said, "We have never encountered this machine before but from what we found out it was responsible for the comm tower's intrusion. It is also responsible for the deaths of a few marines and a technician. When it was stopped it blew up on its own resulting in the death of one of the marines. Apparently this happened just before our sensors picked up the anomaly."

Hood frowned and asked, "So these two events are connected? How can we be certain that it wasn't the Storm Covenant or the Insurrectionists?"

"If that was the case we would have picked up the energy readings of a slipspace jump. Whatever craft passed our border used a different FTL travel method. My personal opinion is that this unknown craft was there to spy on us. The droid pulled as much intel as it could out of the comm tower. ONI's technicians are still figuring out how much they extracted." Osman further said .

"You are certain?" Hood asked one more time.

Osman gave a firm nod.

"Perhaps we should inform the Sangheili of this. We're still building our relationship with them and they could prove to be essential in case of another war." General Hogan proposed.

Some of the gathered leaders began disagreeing with someone saying they could be cannon fodder for the UEG. Hood calmed the down with a stern command. A short silence filled with tension took place after the small uproar.

"If the possibility of an unknown civilization is so high then we'll need to bolster our defenses." An admiral spoke up.

"We're still rebuilding our military. It's true that we have a good amount of ships left along with newer ones at the shipyards but we mustn't forget our temporary weakness." General Strauss said with a frown. Even though he was army he had a vast knowledge of the navy's situation.

"Then it's a good thing we have incorporated Forerunner tech in our ships. The Infinity is a good example." A vice-admiral spoke up.

"The Infinity is still looking for Forerunner worlds and other installations. It has made progress so far." Osman replied.

"Zeta Halo has already given us the knowledge on better engines. Deciphering most of the data has proven to be difficult but we're making progress there as well." Another vice-admiral said but he had the ONI symbol on his uniform.

"We're getting off topic here. Fleet admiral Hood, what is our course of action?" Kovalic asked.

Hood took a deep breath and thought about it for a few seconds. "We're at DEFCON 4. Increase border patrols and speed up our rebuilding of the military. Inform the Sangheili as well. The Arbiter has allied himself with us so we'll need him to be ready as well." Hood instructed.

Coruscant

Imperial palace

"How are these primitives that use slugthrowers as weapons a threat to us? Just one of those marines wouldn't stand a chance against our storm troopers." Moff Pollus Maksim boasted confidently.

As much as Vader wanted to lash out at the man he restrained himself. The moff was one of many to see the UEG as primitives but Vader knew otherwise. He could feel it in the force that the humans of the different galaxy were more dangerous than the imperials believed them to be. At the large table inside the imperial palace sat the most important military leaders of the empire. Some moffs, admirals, generals and grand admirals were present.

He himself sat at the right of Palpatine with Ysanne Isard at his left. Isard had brought her most important lackeys as well. Vader simply loathed the woman. In Vader's eyes she was unfit to be in command of Imperial Intelligence. Her two lackeys were also part of the organization and were obviously lapdogs. If she didn't know how to properly follow orders and praise Palpatine she would have been killed a long time ago. It was a pity, Vader thought, that the emperor liked her. She had sneaked her way up his small list of not to kill because of that. Without his master's backing she would have being choked slowly by now.

It was a good thing that he had brought his own trusted officers as well. Admiral Piett and general Veers sat at his side listening patiently. They did not speak out or judge the UEG so soon without knowing more. Vader would never say it out loud but these two were important to him. They were his most competent and loyal officers under his command. After dealing with so many incompetents he begrudgingly admitted he was proud of these two. They had become fine military leaders under his guidance.

"With all due respect sir but that marine shredded the probe droid apart. It takes a couple of blaster bolts to penetrate the armor of a probe droid. Based on this I'd say that their weapons are on par with ours. At least on the ground since we know little of their spaceships." Captain Calkinn argued. Because of the fact that he had done the reconnaissance he was present at the meeting. Having someone who experienced what happened was important.

"I suggest you listen to the captain. After all, he has been to UEG space on a military mission while you have been governing." Vader intervened coming to the captain's defense. The moff seemed taken aback and chose to be silent.

"Please calm down. We are here to finish our battle plan, not fight among ourselves." Palpatine spoke up with his calm yet cold voice.

"Your majesty, based on our intel it would be best to invade the nearest planet and build a base of operations there. From there on out we can attack the other worlds of the UEG. Aside from that our first objective should be to learn more about our foe." Thrawn proposed.

Palpatine nodded at the grand admiral. "Indeed grand admiral Thrawn. I will leave the fighting to all of you and deal with the rebels. It has been too long since I personally dealt with them. I shall leave all of you to the rest of the planning. Remember that lord Vader is in charge. Fail to obey his commands and you will have failed me."

With those parting words the emperor stood up and left the officers to themselves. He silently left the room with his royal guards in tow. Vader stood up and activated the holoprojector. It showed the gathered fleet at Kuat.

"Seeing as there are still threats within our own borders the amount of forces will not be endless. Nevertheless we have a substantial amount of ships ready to depart. The Executor will not participate in the first battle. It would be unwise to show all our cards at the start. Admiral Thrawn will choose who will be in charge of the initial assault. Take what you need and get the job done." Vader instructed as he paced slowly around the projector.

"What will be the target my lord?" Thrawn asked curiously yet professionally.

The projector changed from the fleet to the image of a planet. "The UEG calls it Harvest. It is the closest target and ironically this Covenant that they fought before attacked that planet first. It will be both of military and psychological value." Vader replied.

"I believe I know someone who will be able to do the job. His name is admiral Brymal Monatt. A young but driven officer who has shown to be quite competent. He crushed a cunning rebel cell on Cato Neimoidia." Thrawn said.

Piett added, "I have heard of this admiral. He achieved his rank not all too long ago but is quite competent. Unlike other officers he's calm and more of a military person than politics. He also achieved his rank without any financial support or status even though his brother owns major industrial facilities on Eriadu. I've seen his work and believe he deserves respect."

Veers seemed thoughtful and added, "If I'm not mistaken he works with general Durame and together they also use battle droids to achieve their goals. I read in a report on one of their battles that they have multiple kinds of droids under their command. B2 battle droids, destroyer droids, BX-series droid commandos, hailfire droids, you name it and they have it. They even have magnaguards as a personal guard. I have to admit I would like to have some of those under my command as well."

"Pff, using some old battle droids won't aid him that much. The battle droids lost the clone wars." A moff said with a dismissive wave.

"Because they were shut down. The standard B1 is incompetent but the B2 is far from inferior. They might prove useful to our attack." One of the grand admirals spoke up calmly. The moff scowled but wisely shut up.

Vader thought about it for a moment. This was a very important operation. If the first attack ended in failure it would not only reflect poorly on the imperial military but it would be very disadvantageous. He had heard of the young admiral as well. It was his job to check the navy since he was the supreme commander and the name Monatt popped up now and then. If Thrawn proposed this man and Piett whose opinion mattered to the sith lord found him competent then Vader would agree.

"Very well then. Inform the admiral of his task and tell him to be ready to leave as soon as possible. Make sure he knows the danger of failing me and the emperor." Vader commanded.

"Lord Vader what about the possibility of the enemy coming in contact with the rebels. If they manage to get the UEG on their side it would mean a huge amount of information for the UEG. We have the advantage of surprise and that they are not familiar with our technology." Isard pointed out.

"Then we'll deal with them. For now we must focus on establishing a foothold in the UEG's galaxy. I'll task ISB to deal with rebel infiltrators." Vader answered.

Vader looked at the assembled group and said, "Remember that this will be a vital operation to ensure the empire's dominance. If necessary we will burn our enemies until nothing remains."

Unknown

Secret rebel base

Princess Leia frowned as she read the intelligence report detailing the imperial forces at Kuat. From what the Alliance's spies found out a large invasion force had gathered at the shipyards before jumping into hyperspace.

It was very concerning seeing as the invasion force had dozens of warships and thousands of ground troops ready for battle. She didn't know how many but according to the report it was large amount. The destination of this fleet was unknown as well.

Leia sighed at the thought of the empire knowing the location of the new rebel base. The defeat at Hoth had been taxing on the rebels but the most recent defeat at Sullust was devastating. Many ships were lost in that battle. Ships that were very needed at the moment.

The only positive thing so far was the fact that Vader had stopped his search for rebels. Leia knew it was connected to the departure of the massive fleet she just read about but what was the purpose? If not to eliminate rebels than what for? Was it meant to subjugate new systems? Was it to stop a threat to the empire?

So many questions yet so little answers. If the Rebellion was to find out what was going on they would need more information. Han would know how to calm her down. But he wasn't here with her. Leia missed his humor and his sass. She still resented Vader for putting him in that carbonite.

She shook away the thoughts of Vader and concentrated on what was important.

The rebels were going to strike an imperial listening outpost that had been on the lookout for rebels transmissions. It was important for the Alliance to destroy the listening out post.

Perhaps they would find more information about the invasion force there.

Harvest

UNSC base 'Shadow Castle'

"Ready? Aim. Fire!" Lieutenant Cosby ordered as the Grizzly tank roared to life.

The Dual M310 120mm Smooth-Bore High-Velocity Cannons fired their shells at the target. Said target was a decommissioned Wraith. The shells tore easily through the hull of the covenant tank. The vehicle blew apart brightly leaving nothing but burning scrap behind.

"Nice shot Rickson." Cosby told the gunner of the tank.

"My pleasure sir." Rickson replied to his tank commander.

At the end of the war a new series of tanks had been developed with the objective of making already existing tanks more powerful. The M850 Main Battle Tank mark II was such an example. Its cannons could fire from a longer range and were more effective now. The tank was also larger than its predecessor. Now it needed both a driver and a gunner. Some of the tanks now had a tank commander to give orders and man the secondary machine gun turret at the top of tank.

"I really love this tank." Iglesias said from his driver seat.

"Who doesn't? Now let's get back to the garage. Target practice is over." Cosby told the two corporals.

"Yes sir." Iglesias replied and moved the tank away from the small field that acted as a practice field for the armored units.

The heavy tank drove towards the base's garage smoothly. The new engine allowed for better maneuverability and more speed. It was a large and heavy vehicle but the engine could make it go faster than the mark I Grizzly. As the tank drove towards its spot they passed a group of marines doing pushups. Their sergeant was yelling loudly for them to pick up the pace. Cosby and Rickson chuckled at the sweating marines.

The tank slowed down and stopped at the garage where other vehicles were in the process of being maintained by the engineers. Everything at the base was renovated and in top condition. The veterans of the human-covenant war had trained most of the personnel with good soldiers as a result.

"Hey isn't that the new Mammoth?" Rickson asked.

Indeed the large transport vehicle was the new Mammoth. Its role was that of Mobile Ground Command Center, Troop Deployment, Anti-Vehicular/Anti-Air platform/Anti-Infantry and Transport. The mini MAC at the top of the large vehicle was capable of massive destruction but when it came to mobility it lacked quite a lot. The strong armor and weaponry along with its multiple roles made up for that though.

"Now that's one big sonuva." Cosby remarked.

With the war over there was a large demand of military equipment to rebuild the UNSC's strength. For that purpose the base had three of these new Mammoths along with other new vehicles and weapons. Repairing planets from glassing operations was now far more easier thanks to recovered Forerunner tech. Harvest was now heavily protected due to it being a symbol of recovery to humanity.

"Lieutenant Cosby!" A marine yelled as he ran into the garage.

Cosby hopped out of the tank and went to the private.

"What is it son?" Cosby asked the marine who seemed to be in his twenties.

"You are needed in the command center sir." The private reported.

Cosby nodded. "I'll get there immediately. You can go now."

"Yes sir." The private said and saluted.

"In trouble again sir?" Iglesias joked as both he and Rickson sat on the Grizzly.

"Who knows. I just hope colonel Stansfield isn't mad about the mess from two days ago." Cosby groaned. The thought of the base's CO chewing him out wasn't quite appealing. She could really reprimand someone.

"Good luck sir." Rickson said before walking away with Iglesias at his side.

Cosby made his way towards the base's command center. On his way he joined some other officers all heading towards the same destination. The tank commander was now quite curious about the reason as to why everyone within the command structure was called to the command center.

Cosby walked inside seeing most of the officers already gathered. Colonel Stanfield stood at the holoprojector of the room with a troubled expression. Cosby noticed the man standing in front of her with a stern expression. He shot the man one more glance and then saw the symbol on the man's shoulder. It was that of ONI. Cosby was getting a bad feeling about what was going on so he went to his place and listened attentively.

"Everyone settle down." Stanfield ordered when everyone was inside. "The reason as to why you're here is because of captain Bradley here. He will explain why you're assembled."

The ONI operative stepped forward and took the stage. "Thank you colonel. I am here because ONI thinks an unknown enemy is coming to Harvest. After an incident on Talitsa and based on the retrieved information by our unknown enemy we believe they will come here. The little intel we have on their information gathering showed a lot of interest in this planet. At the advice of ONI HIGHCOM has elevated danger level to DEFCON 3. We need everyone to be on full alert." Bradley explained.

Murmurs broke out among the assembled group. Cosby frowned deeply at the news.

"Seeing as we are in possible danger all squads at the base need to be combat ready." Stanfield ordered.

"Any idea when this unknown threat will arrive?" A marine leader asked.

"Our sensors have not picked up anything so far but we think it won't take long anymore." Bradley replied.

"Get ready people. Harvest won't fall like it did all those years ago. Let's honor those that died to protect it before us!" Stanfield encouraged the soldiers.

Cosby watched from his spot as the others left the room. Once most people were gone he approached the colonel who was conversing with the ONI spook.

"I don't particularly care about your operations here but I'll send a marine detachment to protect the ONI building." Cosby overheard Stanfield say.

The spook nodded calmly. "Very well then colonel. I'll be leaving now. Make sure that detachment gets there as soon as possible."

With that the ONI captain left. Cosby saw the man grimace but shrugged it off.

Stanfield noticed him and asked, "What is it Cosby?"

"Ma'am I was wondering if I could set up an outpost at the pass close to the base. If there's a possible invasion coming it would be good to reinforce that point in case of an attack on the base." Cosby explained.

Stanfield thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"Good thinking lieutenant. You have my authorization to deal with it." Stanfield said.

"Yes sir." Cosby replied and saluted before getting the necessary materials and men.

Two days later

Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser UNSC Anchor

Harvest orbit

Admiral Kovalic looked at the inky black space from the viewport on the bridge. It had been quite some time since he was sent to Harvest with additional ships to reinforce the rebuilding colony world. He had been tasked to defend the planet from their unknown foe so in addition to the standard defensive fleet guarding Harvest he had the command over both his own battlegroup and the ships granted to him by HIGHCOM. The entire fleet above Harvest was made out of fifty ships. Two fifth of them being light to heavy frigates. The rest were destroyers and cruisers but he had also three new Poseidon-class light carriers to give a fighter boost.

Kovalic didn't know whether it was enough to defend the planet but he would make the best of it. If things got too rough to handle he was to leave the system and join the nearest fleet as ordered. Leaving Harvest to fend off enemies by itself left a bad taste in his mouth but orders were orders. He wasn't going to leave without a fight though. There was still a chance that he could push the enemy back.

"Admiral my scanners are picking something up." The sensor officer suddenly reported from her station.

Kovalic frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

The ship officer typed at the console with a deep frown trying to make sense out of it. "I'm detecting movement close to our borders." She answered and then widened her eyes. "Multiple contacts entering our space now! There's a lot of them!"

Kovalic turned away from the console and ran towards he viewport. Others at the bridge looked outside as well with all the commotion.

Triangular ships began to appear but not out of slipspace portals. They arrived without warning. Kovalic gaped at the large amount of ships that just arrived.

"Get me a read on those vessels now!" He ordered.

The bridge officers and ensigns began working furiously at his command.

"Sir there are at least seventy ships or more." An ensign reported.

Kovalic cursed silently and was about to say something but he was interrupted by the communications officer.

"Admiral, one of the vessels is contacting us." The man said urgently.

The bridge grew quiet except for Kovalic who said, "Patch them through."

Within moments an image of a human in his thirties appeared on the screen. Kovalic was surprised at the fact that it was a human who showed up. The man in a grey uniform had short black hair and a strong jaw. A small scar trailed down the man's right eyebrow. Kovalic hid his surprise quickly and put up a serious face.

"This is admiral Kovalic of the United Nations Space Command. You are trespassing UEG space. Identify yourselves immediately and state your intentions at once." He demanded sternly.

"Greetings admiral Kovalic. I am admiral Brymal Monatt of the Galactic Empire. Me and my fleet are here to inform you that your world will be absorbed into our glorious empire. I ask for your immediate unconditional surrender." Monatt answered calmly with his hands clasped behind his back.

Kovalic frowned and said, "If you think we will go down without a fight then you're sorely mistaken. I'm giving you one chance to stand down so we can talk it out."

Monatt sighed and shook his head. He knew that even for primitives using slugthrowers it would be almost impossible to convince them to surrender.

"You are outnumbered admiral Kovalic. Are you sure you wish to fight the empire?" Monatt tried to reason one last time.

"Go to hell you imperial scum." Kovalic hissed and broke the connection. He then turned to his crew and began barking orders.

"Everyone to their battle stations. Assume formation delta three and prepare the MAC cannons. All pilots to their fighters. Inform ground command that an enemy called the Galactic Empire has declared war on us. Have them prepare for an invasion force. Alert HIGHCOM of our situation as well. Get a move on it people!" He ordered.

On every level the crew of the Anchor hurried to their stations as trained. Engineers stood at standby to repair damage, pilots went to the hangars, marines equipped themselves with armor and weapons. The helmsman realigned the ship so it aimed the front at the imperial fleet and was followed by the other ships. The UNSC fleet assumed their position with frigates surrounding their assigned larger ships.

Kovalic oversaw the movements of his fleet and nodded in satisfaction when everyone was in position.

"All ships are to fire MAC cannons at my command. Destroyers and cruisers are to target the larger ships with our frigates aiming at their escorts. Have our fighter wings on standby to intercept hostile fighters." He ordered calmly yet with a commanding tone.

His crew worked on the double to carry out his orders. They were going to protect Harvest with everything they had.

ISD Grievous

Admiral Monatt stood indifferently at the viewport of his flagship, an imperial II-class Star Destroyer, called the ISD Grievous. Monatt had always been inspired by the separatist droid army. Therefore he used those droids in his tactics and battles. He named his flagship after the supreme commander of that army. General Grievous, albeit lacking in some aspects, was in Monatt's eyes a great military leader. During the clone wars he had been responsible for many republic defeats and the deaths of many jedi. Some of Monatt's tactics were based on Grievous' and as if that was not enough Monatt even had one of the deceased general's masks. Monatt admired the Kaleesh warlord. He could say that with amazing conviction.

Monatt's thoughts were occupied with the UNSC's ships. They were in his eyes ugly but from what the weapon officer of his ship reported it sported a large amount of weapons. Monatt also spotted the seemingly huge cannons at the front of each ship. He had yet to see what kind of weaponry the UNSC utilized on their starships. Probably slugthrowers as well if he guessed correctly.

Monatt didn't doubt his chances. While his foe had large ships and many smaller ones at their sides he had a large fleet himself. Fifteen imperial-class star destroyers, twenty-five victory-class star destroyers, five interdictors, twenty acclamator II-class assault ships and ten venator-class star destroyers. Aside from these larger ships there were also five light carriers and twenty light cruisers. A fleet large enough to break through the hostile fleet. Not to mention the large amounts of troops stored on the assault ships. The number of starfighters was also quite large due to the presence of carriers and the Venators.

"Get our ships in formation C-5. Star destroyers take point with escort ships guarding them. Carriers and support ships in the middle and back." Monatt ordered stroking his chin in contemplation.

"Sir, enemy ships are assuming formation with their fronts aimed at us." An officer on the bridge reported.

"All ships spread out. If they're going to try something we'll need all the space we can get. Ready all TIE fighters and other starfighters." The admiral replied.

The star destroyers their engines shone a bright blue as the helmsmen moved the large ships in position. All around the fleet crewmen were running to their stations. Gunners checked their turbolasers, pilots went to their cockpits, Stormtroopers were walking around in their normal patrol groups and officers were barking orders. The imperial fleet began approaching the UNSC fleet at an adequate pace.

Monatt narrowed his eyes sensing something was off. The UNSC ships made slight adjustments to their position. The imperial admiral grabbed his datapad and looked over it. He saw the hostile ships pointing themselves straight at his ships.

"Admiral I'm getting power readings showing the enemy ships are gathering energy at the front!" The sensor CO reported from his post.

Monatt widened his eyes in realization.

His guess about those cannons seemed to be very accurate.