[b]Pitchkins settled into his new office at the Emperor's Citadel on Byss. He felt slightly empty when he thought about the departure just made from his beloved Insidious. While in the shuttle he fidgeted as the pilot flew on. After a while the pilot piped up cautiously 'Er Grand Moff.... sir...you do realise we're not really going to Corusca[/b][b]nt?', Pitchkins looked up from his dream like gaze slowly watching the ship fade out of view, half paying attention to the pilot. 'I guessed as much' Pitchkins sighed. 'No crown ever felt light'. The pilot nodded silently, much like those taxi drivers at Kaas city - neither offering hope or horror and yet strangely giving comfort.[/b] [b]The shuttle glided towards the awaiting Immobilizer 418 cruiser- aptly named the Black Asp, which was ready to receive the Grand Moff and take him to Byss- a planet in the deep core. After a brief moment the shuttles security codes had been accepted. The shuttle landed in the cruisers main hanger bay, most of the ships complement awaited his arrival, ready with all the bells and whistles stood in columns of both Navy and storm troopers. Nervously, Captain Cartold stood at the front of the formations of men waiting to greet the Grand Moff. The Captain looked nervous, his clammy cold hands locked into each other behind his back. As the shuttle touched down, the crew stood to attention standing as still as statues as the gravitational mobilisers spewed out small jets of excess steam around the Lambda shuttle.[/b] [b]As the shuttle ramp came down Pitchkins stepped down onto the hangar bay deck. Surveying Captain Cartoid, he noticed apprehension and anxiety in the man’s stance – the colour slowly draining from his face. ‘Grand Moff Pitchkins….it’s an honour to…’ but before he could finish he was interrupted. ‘yes… yes quite – I’m afraid the feeling isn’t mutual under the circumstances, however it is lovely to be on board the Asp again. How many ships have you caught recently captain?’ The Grand moff asked while walking out of the hanger bay towards the bridge, old memories of the ships layout coming back to him, as if waking up from a dream. Pitchkins was well aware that his nature could be seen as rude, almost dismissing the fact that the crew had assemble – but it was work after all. Nervously the captain piped up, ‘Well…sir recently we are operating above our quota and capturing six a day, furthermore we are prosecuting at least two of those’. ‘Good’ Pitchkins replied, as he did so he stopped in his tracks and looked directly at the Captain, the ambient hum of the interdictor covering the silence. ‘What you do is imperative Captain. Don’t be so anxious- where is your pride! The quote that you are exceeding is a credit to your command. We all have our part to play in the machine- no matter how small the component’. Captain Cartold watched silently, mouth open as Pitchkins turned and carried on walking to the nearest turbolift. ‘Er…th..thank you sir’. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b] [b]Pitchkins could still see the captains worried face, almost as if he was hiding something. ‘I suppose we all have our secrets’ he thought, dismissing this conspiracy. Pitchkins was neither a perfectionist or unflawed – but he took pride in his work and used information to his advantage, having previously checked the ship's quota before he even arrived on the Black Asp. He never tolerated liars, even if it was himself. Pondering back on his life, the steady noise of the busy Byss hover car traffic can be constantly heard, strangely pleasant – the humming effect was almost calming knowing that the city was moving…living even. The rebel propaganda was indeed a lie when it came to Byss. It did have its bad areas- but in general it was well kept, safe, clean and supported high living standards- even for the poor. Palpatine came to power, bringing in wide spread social reforms to the system and famously made it his resort planet.[/b] [b]Born of a spice hunter father into a poor neighbourhood of Alderaan’s snow-capped Plathorn City, he was thrust into life head on, to something that felt like a constant uphill battle. His mother had a small food store selling vegetables outside of their home. Just before the clone wars he enrolled into the Republic Navy as an apprentice. There was a recruitment day in the city and at the age of 17, against his mother’s wishes, he enrolled. After being transported to the Republic Navy Academy on Prefsbelt 4, he studied there for 3 years and graduated with honours as a leading crewman. He was then posted to his first ship – a Venator class Star Destroyer called the Scoutsman for 11 years. Having fought his way through the entire clone wars in battles such as Geonosis and Naboo, after order 66 he was posted to a Class one Imperial Star Destroyer named the Judicator as a Lieutenant commander. The Judicator was involved in high priority battles including both Endor and Hoth. He was a dab hand at quashing potential rebellions and exploiting enemy weak points. After 10 years on on-board he left as an Admiral. Shortly after – he was made Grand Admiral of the 422nd Tarkin fleet and commanded the fleet’s flag vessel, a new Class two Star Destroyer, the infamous Insidious. [/b][b]Thinking back made him realise just how far he had come, but it was unclear just exactly how. The rain lashed down onto Pitchkins office, the glare of the city lights amplified by the droplets. It felt ok to be here, the steady hustle and bustle of the Citadel was almost calming, the Stormtrooper sentry footprints could be heard occasionally along the corridor outside his office door as they conducted their routine patrol. Listening to the rain, Pitchkins wondered exactly why he was pulled here rather than Coruscant. Of course the Citadel was important- if not more so than the seat of governance on Coruscant itself – but the Emperor rarely invited anyone here. After Endor – the re-born Emperor ruled from this very place, so hidden and protected from pesky rebels. Here, there was indeed order and prosperity.[/b][b]The Citadel itself was formidable, a mushroom like megastructure right in the middle of this sprawling metropolis. It housed three Stormtrooper legions as well as various other secret units, shadows and whispers everywhere. It housed command centres, barracks and of course the incredibly grand throne room. Pitchkins’s new office was large, with the typically grey interior and clean shiny floors making it feel as if you had never left a Star Destroyer. The desk was made of granite, with a plush high backed chair and a computer console awaiting a login – and lastly a framed photograph of a loved one, never to return. After unpacking, Pitchkins looked back at his personal book collection now adjourning the walls. ‘Almost like home’, he muttered to himself.  [/b][b]The inevitable tap at the door came moments later. Pitchkins sat down and quickly uttered ‘come in’ opening the door via his console. Two death troopers entered the room saluting and stood side by side of the door. ‘Sir’ the taller one on the left piped up, ‘We present to you Grand Vizier Amedaa’. There are not many people that require a Grand Moff to salute or get up from a chair for in the Empire – but this was an exception. Pitchkins stood up instantly and saluted accurately as Amedaa entered the room gracefully, a stern look on his face. The Grand Vizier was only second to the Emperor himself and had years of experience in running the Empire in his absence.[/b][b]Amedaa stood silently, analysing the Grand Moff with precision, noticing a fine head of greyish brown hair, standing at around 5.11 in a traditional Tarkin - esque pristine grey uniform and long black impeccably clean boots. He moved his hand up and made a slight gesture that gave the Death Troopers the cue to leave the room. The door whispered shut and all was still. ‘So dramatic’ Pitchkins quipped smiling slightly as he walked over to the silent being. ‘Nelson you old bastard!’, Amedaa replied, grabbing the Grand Moff by the hand and shoulder -serious, but with a hint of joy in his voice. At 62 Pitchkins felt old. As a child he was involved in a speeder crash that made him stoop slightly, his hands still retained the scars left over from this accident. ‘You’re right Amedaa, I am old, but not by technical definition a bastard as my father was legitimate….as far as I know’ he quipped back. They both moved back to the desk and seated themselves, a long pause holding the silence. ‘So….how are things?’, Amedaa began, half ready to interrupt anything the Grand Moff could have said. ‘Standard. Life is somewhat a chore….anyway I’m looking forward to retirement’. ‘Hah!’ the inevitable reply came, almost mockingly, ‘We both know that will never happen Nelson. You carry the traits admired by the Emperor himself – a prize bitch if you will’. Pitchkins sat back in his chair smirking, his left hand fingers touching his right – almost as if in prayer. ‘Say’s the Grand Vizier himself, how appropriate coming from the Palpatines puppet’, Pitchkins replied as sharp as a sabre from the old days. Amedaa laughed, but the silence grew as Pitchkins looked more seriously at Amedaa and after a long silence he asked: ‘why am I here old friend?’. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b] [b]Kuat Drive Yards long retained the rightful title as one of the best ship makers in the galaxies. It’s almost impenetrable defences made it a prime target by the rebellion, but for the most part- construction continues without interruption. The sound of steam outlets, the banging of steel (among other metals) and the voices of construction workers can be heard 24/7 on Kuat – the shipyard that never sleeps. KYD made sure their workers were well paid and all had sufficient security clearance to work within the yard – although some would say the word ‘yard’ is an understatement considering the size of these ships being made here- some over a mile long, some much bigger still.  [/b][b]Emperor Palpatine surveyed the star destroyer currently being finished in docking bay 12 safely from the observation deck of the survey ship, either side of his shoulder two of the Emperor's Royal Guard stood by him imposingly – force pikes in hand. ‘I trust she will be finishing on schedule foreman?’ he hissed patiently to the master foreman of bay 12. ‘Yes m’lord, we are just installing the last of the systems and she’ll be ready to launch in two days’ the foreman gruffly replied respectfully, a cup of tea trembling slightly in hand. ‘Excellent, ensure it is foreman – I will not tolerate setbacks any further’. ‘Y-y- yes of course m’lord, we are ahead of schedule, the delay before was due to….’, ‘I know what happened foreman.’ The emperor interrupted, ‘There was very little you could have done to avoid that tragedy.’[/b] [b]The survey vessel hummed around the space based yards that orbited Kuat. They were observing, what looked like a typical class 2 star destroyer, but the Emperor's personal interest showed this to be more than just your average class 2. The externals were completely assembled apart from the deflector shield domes which were being slowly lowered and fixed into position either side of the bridge. Shuttles could be seen coming in and out of the ship at regular intervals transporting the internal systems required to bring this behemoth to life. The ISD Blackstar was being built as the sister ship to the Insidious and to join the 422nd Tarkin Fleet to support the ongoing operations covering Grand Moff Pitchkins’s Oversector. [/b][b]‘These ships represent the best we can do, m’lord. The courts have just been installed too’. ‘Good. There are only two of these Overseer class star destroyers serving. Due to the Insidious’s success – and the future success of the Blackstar, we will need five more made within 5 years….you will of course be rewarded for your efforts foreman’. The Emperor turned as he said this walking to the exit. ‘M’lord…if I may, who will lead such a ship?’, Palpatine stopped facing the door and spoke without turning around ‘Between inspecting other ships, Grand Moff’s, sectors, oversectors, garrisons and any planet that the rebel dregs may be – I have one of my best men on the job. Now, ensure those next ships are planned accordingly foreman’. The Emperor shuffled out of the viewing deck, his two guards following swiftly and silently. ‘At once m’lord’ the master foreman obeyed willingly. Pondering on his future, he took a few moments and thought of warm things back home and how much he missed his family, these thoughts slowly went over his life and some of the events he had gone through, but they always went back to one memory he could never get rid of - the massacre committed by rebels in his hometown on Dantooine. 121 dead – women and children included. He walked over to his holonet transceiver and dialled for his deputy foreman angrily, ‘Jedrick’ he said pausing as if in pain- ‘begin procurement procedure for 5 more of these bastards – there’s rebels out there to punish’. [color=#ff0000]To be continued.[/color][/b]

[size=200][b]a [/b][/size][size=300][b][i]SHORT[/i][/b][/size][size=200][b] story[/b][/size]