> The Rise of a New Empire > by Mr Dorito > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Elysium > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In hyperspace en route to planet designated "Elysium" Unknown Regions Admiral Gilad Pellaeon Super Star Destroyer Reaper Admiral Gilad Pellaeon was reading up on information of the planet named Elysium from Grand Admiral Thrawn's journal on his datapad. Around him, the bridge crew of his flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Reaper were busy doing their duties. Any moment now, they'll emerge from hyperspace. "Our last hope." Those 3 words continued to echo in Pellaeon's mind. It was the last thing Thrawn said about the planet on his journal. Pellaeon sighed as he reminded himself, they're still at war. It's been 4 years since they announced Grand Admiral Thrawn's death. The New Republic truly believed he was dead. In a way, he was. There was much celebration within the New Republic until some Imperial Commanders, in an act of vengeance, bombarded some New Republic planets. The Imperials then began to break down into another Civil War after Palpatine's death in Operation Shadow Hand until Admiral Pellaeon, Admiral Daala, and Grand Admiral Josef Grunger decided to eliminate the warlords. They gathered all of the warlords including Zsinj in an apparent peace talks to unite against the New Republic. Of course, it quickly broke down when the warlords began to argue with one another. While they bicker, Pellaeon, Daala, and Grunger left the room, right before dioxis gas was inserted. From that point on, they and the Council of Moffs, gathered the surviving ships of the Imperial Navy and formed the Imperial Remnant with Grand Admiral Josef Grunger as the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet. With him being the last Grand Admiral besides Octavian Grant who was under the watchful eye of the New Republic, he became the most wanted man in the New Republic. Grand Admiral Grunger was close to being killed, not by the New Republic, but by his fellow Grand Admiral Danetta Pitta. Just like many Imperials, Grunger declared himself a warlord and gathered a massive fleet including the Super Star Destroyer Aggressor. Grunger's first target was his rival Pitta, who commandeered a Torpedo Sphere over Tralus. In a risky move, he engaged Pitta's torpedo sphere by himself with the Aggressor to soften them up. It appeared Pitta would emerge as the victor when the Aggresor's shields were down, until the rest of Grunger's forces emerged out of hyperspace. Pitta did his best, taking out a few Imperial Star Destroyers and Victory-class Star Destroyers, but he was finally destroyed when his torpedo sphere could not handle so much concentrated fire. Before Grunger could celebrate his victory, the Warlord Zsinj, along with his Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist and a massive fleet showed up. Knowing he would not win this battle, especially with the state the Aggressor was in, he retreated. Grunger was forced to wait a long time while repairing his beloved flagship. The rest of his fleet however conducted raids to gather supplies for their fleet. There was talk among his officers of leaving his fleet to join the other warlords, when he was saved by Grand Moff Ardus Kaine. Kaine approached Grunger and offered him to join the Pentastar Alignment. Grunger agreed and the Pentastar Alignment Navy aquired two SSDs: the Reaper and the Aggressor. When Grand Admiral Thrawn launched a campaign against the New Republic, Grunger was tempted to join him, but Kaine persuaded him to hold back. He did agree to send some Star Destroyers to help him. He was disappointed when he heard of Thrawn's "death", but was rejuvenated when he heard of Emperor Palpatine's return. Grunger met with him personally at Byss, and while pleased of Thrawn's efforts to take down the New Republic he ordered Grunger to stay at Entralla. Palpatine told him he regretted for not having a contingency plan to keep his forces intact in case of his demise and ordered all of his forces to follow Grunger in case he were to die again. Grunger again was disappointed when he heard of Palpatine's and Kaine's deaths during Operation Shadow Hand and was quick to eliminate the warlords. With Admirals Pellaeon and Daala by his side and backed by the Council of Moffs, they formed the Imperial Remnant. Their Navy, while not as big as before the Battle of Endor, was still formidable. They included the Super Star Destroyers Reaper, Aggressor, Knight Hammer, Enforcer, Unstoppable (ex-Iron Fist, ex-Brawl), Fearless (ex-Terror), and Intimidator. They had 2 other Super Star Destroyers, the Vengeance and the Whelm, but they were destroyed when some overzealous commanders went to Coruscant without the approval of the Grand Admiral. They took on multiple New Republic Fleets and a few Viscounts, but were massively outnumbered and destroyed, 2 Super Star Destroyers they will never get back. Imperial Commanders were reluctant to send capital ships in fear of losing them after that. The Assertors and the Bellators mostly remained intact due to Imperial Commanders not committing them to battle as much as the other warships and the Intimidator was discovered luckily, by Admiral Pellaeon, badly damaged, but operable. With the lost of the Kuat shipyards, the Imperials could not produce as many ships as they used to, and the New Republic was afraid to battle the Imperial Navy, knowing it would result with numerous casualties, turning the Galactic Civil War into a war of attrition. However, now that the New Republic has both the Mon Calamari shipyards, and the Kuat shipyards, they began to produce ships at a rapid rate, including the Viscount-class Star Defenders which were designed to counter the Imperial Dreadnoughts. Luck seemed to be on the Imperial's side when they were contacted by Admiral Voss Parrck. Grunger and many others were surprised about the existance of the "Empire of the Hand" which was created by the late Grand Admiral Thrawn. They secretly formed an alliance, and Pellaeon decided to confront Parrck to learn information about "Elysium" after reading Thrawn's journal. Parrck responded that he was as much in the dark as Pellaeon, only the fact Thrawn made a friend on that planet, he visited it when he was still a Chiss Navy Commander, and that the planet holds something valuable. Parrck then dropped on a bombshell, Thrawn created a clone of himself. Pellaeon was elated considering the real Thrawn is currently on a vegetative state after receiving multiple blows to the head by his former bodyguard Rukh when they fought. Unfortunately, his clone was destroyed when the alien warlord Nuso Esva assaulted the Hand of Thrawn. In the assault, Nuso Esva and his forces were destroyed, but not before they discovered Thrawn's clone and destroyed it. After much discussion, Grunger ordered Pellaeon to follow the coordinates on Thrawn's journal and find Elysium in the Unknown Regions, hopefully to find a way to heal Thrawn. It's been a wild and stressful ride. Pellaeon thought as he read his datapad. His fleet consists of the SSD Reaper, the Assertor-class Dreadnought Wrath, 2 Bellator-class Dreadnoughts Merciless and Victorious, 8 Praetor-class Battlecruisers, 3 Secutor-class Star Destroyers, 10 Allegiance-class Battlecruisers, 15 Imperial II-class Star Destroyers, 21 Victory III-class Star Destroyers, 20 Munificent-class Frigates, 17 Providence-class Dreadnoughts, 24 Venator-class Star Destroyers, and 5 Interdictor-class Star Destroyers. The Clone War era ships are evidence of the Imperial Remnant's need for ships. "Sir, we're almost out of hyperspace." said a bridge officer. "Good, very good. Have all ships on high alert in case the inhabitants are hostile." Pellaeon watched as the fleet jumped out of hyperspace. When they saw Elysium, they saw a beautiful planet, nearly untouched by civilization. Reminds me of Byss. Pellaeon thought. Elysium looks like a normal planet by galactic standards with one star and 1 moon. "Alright, get me anything you can get on the planet." He told the bridge crew before going back to his datapad. Hmmm, another report on the Imperial Ghost. Pellaeon has been getting reports like these for about a week. There has been reports of a lone Star Destroyer raiding New Republic bases and convoys. The Star Destroyer always escapes before they can be caught by New Republic Fleets. This sent the New Republic into a panic, if this Star Destroyer can quickly raid their bases and convoys before disappearing, will they target their leaders as well? After several raids, the holonet nicknamed the unknown Star Destroyer, the Imperial Ghost. It certaintly wasn't part of the Imperial Remnant Navy, otherwise, he would know. Pellaeon read the report and was surprised, the Imperial Ghost just destroyed a New Republic fleet consisting of a MC75 Cruiser, a Dauntless-class Heavy Cruiser, and 3 Nebulon-B Escort Frigates over Tatooine. I would love to recruit the commander of that Star Destroyer. Pellaeon thought. But will they attack us as well? He was shaken out of his thoughts when he was approached by Captain Bron Hazley. "Sir, we've spotted sattelites orbiting the planet. Primitive by our standards. Cities have also been spotted, but the planet appears to be mostly untouched by civilization. Overall, we don't see anything that appears to be a threat to us." "Good work, prepare a-" "SIR! ENERGY SPIKE COMING FROM THE PLANET!" said an officer. Pellaeon and Captain Hazley quickly turned to the planet, wide eyed at the bright yellow dot getting brighter and brighter. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Pellaeon yelled. He shielded his eyes as a yellow beam sailed past the Reaper and into the darkness of space. "That was a warning shot. Turn around and leave the system aliens." said a voice from one of the computers. The screen only showed static, but the feminine voice was loud and clear. They speak basic! Pellaeon thought as he ran to the computer. "Hold your fire! This is Admiral Pellaeon of the Imperial Navy. We come in peace! I repeat, we come in peace!" There was silence from the other side. The bridge crew held their breath, waiting for the response. "You are not affiliated with the one known as Nuso Esva?" So that Rancor pile of dung came here before us. Pellaeon thought. "No, our Navy eliminated Nuso Esva and his forces a while back." "Oh, well that certainly is good news. We....we apologize for firing at you." The crew breathed a sigh of relief. "What business do you have here?" "We're in an exploration mission to this planet. One of our commanders visited this planet many years ago." "Who is this commander of yours?" "Grand Admiral Thrawn." "Thrawn? Am I hearing this correctly? Did you say Thrawn?" "Indeed, he is one of our highest ranking commanders." There was a lot of whispering from the other end. Pellaeon turned his head to see the entire bridge staring at him, waiting for the response. "This is joyous news. We have much to discuss Admiral. Meet us in this location. We are transmitting coordinates now." "Thank you." He said before he breathed a sigh of relief. Pellaeon stepped away from the computer and waited for his crew to find the location. "I got it sir, it's one of their cities near or on a mountain, I cannot tell." "Good, prep a shuttle. I'm going down there. Tell Vice Admiral Katari he has the fleet." Pellaeon said as he walked out of the bridge. 1 hour later Pellaeon sat on a chair, watching as they entered the atmosphere of Elysium. Escorting his Lambda-class Shuttle was 4 TIE Fighters. More Fighters and Troop Transports were at the ready in case things go south. He also brought with him, 2 squads of Death Troopers and Shadow Stormtroopers to guard him. He was nervous. There was still the possibility that whatever they find here, won't help them at all, but he learned to have faith in Thrawn. Maybe there's even something here that will heal him. "E.T.A. Five Minutes." said the pilot. Finally, the broke through the clouds. They all gasped at the sight before them. "Is that a city, on the side of a mountain?" said the pilot. "I've seen stranger things, but this place looks beautiful." The city was indeed beautiful in Pellaeon's eyes. He personally loved the architecture and the waterfalls was a nice touch. No wonder Thrawn loved this place. He said referring to some of the entries in Thrawn's journal. "Uh sir? Where do we land?" asked the pilot. "Circle around the city until we find a suitable spot." Pellaeon couldn't help but marvel at the city. It reminded him of Naboo. "Sir, I see a large square 200 meters from the castle-like structure. Seems pretty crowded by the inhabitants sir." "Get in close and prepare to land. They'll get the idea and move out of the way." "Yes sir." responded the pilot. As the shuttle got closer, the natives seemed to get the idea and backed away as the shuttle landed. Pellaeon got up to go outside before a Death Trooper stopped him. "Sir, I believe you should wear a mask until we deem the air breathable." *Sigh* "Alright." Pellaeon said as he sat back down and put on his mask. The natives outside were nervous. The city was almost in a full-blown panic when they saw the loud flying machines circle their city. In the sky, the other 4 flying machines continued to circle the city. They believed it was Nuso Esva returning, until many realized they haven't been fired upon yet and the designs of the machines were nothing like his. Many were scared that the newcomers may be hostile and all of them kept their distance. Then, a brown, short native with dark hair, wearing a green shirt with brown shorts, presumably a child, slowly walked up to the machine. There seemed to be nobody close to him as he stood right in front of it. The child stared in awe at the machine and took a step forward before the bottom of the machine lowered into a ramp. Around the square, the natives fearfully backed off and some even found cover in case whoever came out of starting firing at them. The child tripped while backing off and was about to get up when a figure in what looks like black armor emerged. The figure had a gun, in which the other natives cowered at its sight, and a box-like item in one hand, slowly waving it around. They heard a beeping noise from the box and the figure then looked at the child who was frozen in fear at the sight of the alien. Maybe it won't see me if I don't move. The child thought. The armored figure walked towards the child and stop right before it. "A͖ͪ̑ͧ̋̚l̨͖̭̖̱̑͌ͣl̫̟̗̖̫̗̮͗͒̊͑͒ͮ̿̓ ̴͕̫̫̬̪̬͂ͬ̇͒͛͆ͮ̔̈́c̷̨̙̞̹͈̣̘͓̻̍͒ͪ̎ͮͦͤl̻̘̯̍ͨ̓͐̑͡͝e͒ͨ͟͏͙̱͉̣̠̮̭̫a̲̞͈̪͓̰͒̒ͧ͡ȑ̴͚̱̟͖̰̾̅̾́̾ͩ͝. T̸̯̠̪̤͉̞ͬͨ̄̿̏̒̀͟h͖̹̦̯͛̃̉̑̈ͤ͝e̢̮̲͕̭͐̐̿́̕ ̨̡̱͔̻͉̹̹̳̦̒͐ͥ͡a̙ͤ̋̇̔ͩ̒̈̒ͭ͠i̤̹̪̮̠ͭ͑ͅŗ̴̜̹̮͎̘̞͚̫̀͛̓̓̆ͤ̚ͅ ̴͕͔̝͒͊̿̔̚͞i͓͋̉s̻͒ͥͭ͐͆́̔̚͘ ̧͇̗̪͇̬̂̈́̈́ͩͮ̓͋̕͠ͅs̫͇͍ͦ̓̀̕͘a̷̞̺̹̗ͥ̒̔̒̏ͫͩf̡̺̊ͨ̎ͩ͌͆ͤ̚͝e̍̅ͣ̚͘҉͔̳̠ ̻͈͎̺͎͔̾̉͑̂͑ͧ́͞t̹̟̣ͩ̑ͯ͛͗ͨ̌̑̾o̢̡͔̘̣̎ͦ͗̌ͨ͗ͫͬͤ ̮͍̭̅͑ͫͩ̌ͪ̌ͪ͢b̗̎ͪͪ̏̇r̞͔͉͖͔̻͆͊̽̿͌̏͂̇͗͠ͅe͙̜͙͇͔̦͒̄͐̓̈́̐̀a͙̞̟͑̈t͕̹͙̦͙̲̰̞̳͂̏ͨ̐ͦ̚̕h̷̺̞̻͐ͭe̎̒ͬ̈̈́̀͜͝҉̟̩̗̺̙̘.͕̱̬̮̘̱͉̠͂ͫ̋̔͂ͤ́̕ͅ" The natives couldn't tell what the figure said, but it didn't ease them of their fears. Nothing happened as the figure continued to stare at the child until all of a sudden, 16 figures walked out of the craft. 7 has the same armor as the first figure that emerged from the craft, 8 had a different kind of dark armor though it looked similar to the first, and the last one was wearing an Olive-Green uniform with a peculiar hat. The alien had a shiny metal "badge" on the figure's breast. To the natives, the figure reminded them of Thrawn, but this alien had pale skin, white hair, and white facial hair. They can see wrinkles on the alien's face telling them that this alien may be old. Pellaeon looked at the natives that stared at them fearfully. They all had a variety of colors, more so than the Twi'leks. He noticed one of the Death Troopers standing in front of what looks like a child and stared at him. The poor child was shaking in fear. "Back away from the child trooper, the child's no threat to us." "Y̧̱̩̖̥̏ͣ̓̌̔͑̀ͨ͟e̬̜̗̘̱̜ͩ̓ͫͭ̎̇̌͛͢s͒̔̐ͥ̅̅̍͟͠ͅ ̙̱̯̥͈̟͖ͯ̐̓́͝sͨ̃̓ͫ̂́҉͚̣̯͇̳̣͈i͚̠̙̗̯͚̥̻͈ͦ͊͒ͧͯ̆̇ṛ̠̏ͫ͟" The trooper said as he backed off and joined his brothers and sisters who surrounded the Admiral. He observed the natives. They all looked humanoid besides their obvious alien traits. The natives all come in a variety of colors, some had wings, some had horns, and some had none at all. "So, what now sir?" asked a Shadow Trooper. "Well, we wait until the proper authorities arrive to greet us." They didn't have to wait long until there was a flash. Pellaeon was the only one not affected due to him not wearing a helmet. When his vision cleared, he saw his soldiers pointing their weapons at a group of natives who appeared out of nowhere. One was a tall white figure in a white dress, kaleidoscopic hair that is strangely moving as if there was wind despite there being any, wings, and a horn. Pellaeon can tell from the large breasts that this figure was a female, hopefully. He didn't want to offend them in their first contact. Surrounding her was presumably guards wearing golden armor and were pointing their weapons at his soldiers as well. He doesn't know if his trooper's armors can withstand their blasters, but he didn't want to know. Not now at least. Pellaeon quickly stepped in between the groups. "Whoa whoa, easy!" His hands outstretched, one in the direction of the troops, and the other at the direction of the newcomers. "Troopers stand down. We're not here to start a war." His troopers were reluctant at first, but finally complied. He turned to the newcomer, "You guys as well." "What? You're telling us to stand down? You guys come here and-" One of the native guards said before he was cut off by the female in the dress. "Stand down, all of you." she said. "But your majesty." The female glared at the guard, "That was a direct order sergeant." The sergeant finally backed down. "Yes your majesty." Pellaeon stood at attention as the female walked towards him. She was much taller than him, even without the horn, though he was never one of the taller officers to begin with. Some of his troopers were just short of her height and one of them, he believes, is as tall as her, if not taller. "Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. Imperial Navy." He said, offering his hand for a handshake. "Princess Celestia. Ruler of Equestria along with my sister." She said as she shook his hand. "I welcome you to our planet and Equestria. Come, I believe we have much to discuss."