"Phase One complete..."

[Kayura]

An encrypted message arrived as she was working through a velocity or two with her sword. Sheathing it and feeling some external disappointment, she turned from her practice to the computer. At the press of a button, a diminutive figure of another man in a uniform appeared.

"Status report, Colonel."

"Ma'am, Alpha and Bravo fleets are in place, Phase One is complete. What are your orders?"

Golden eyes peered sharply with exacting contrast from the dark. Eyes like a wolf stared powerfully into the figure from under the edge of a hood. "Excellent, assume defensive positions around the relay stations for now and prepare for enemy action."

"Understood, Bravo Fleet out."

The figure vanished. Now it was time to play the waiting game. It was time to strategize further if a larger fleet action would be required. She shook her head. She wanted it to look as if the Red Hand was on its last leg. The larger strategy remained...wait and see what the republic did...if it could.

[Kayura]

Unlike other Dark Lords past, she wasn't the sort to sit on a ship and stare out a window. She certainly wasn't the type to use overly grandiose battle stations to seek out her objective. She knew being the Dark Ladylord carried with it certain risks she had to be prepared for. Hours were spent waiting for the next report.

Lines and lines of code had been written, edited, and compiled. Viruses stood ready to be launched just the same as the baradium missiles aboard many of the ships in the Sith Grand Fleet. She was ready to wage an out-and-out war as a last resort.

She had already oultined the sort of training to be expected for the troops of both ground and fleet forces. Everything screamed of turning a stagnant, disorganized military into a professional force. Come hell or hull-breach, she'd have a chain of command from her desk to the very private on the ground. It would take time...that she had. It would take patience...that she also had. It would also take a determination...that she had in abundance.

For the fact that she had the fear, respect, and emnity of the other Sith, she trained herself relentlessly. Just as she had done in days before she had a master, she was now relying on droids whose blasters were set to kill. It had always been and so it was now: only when she stood on the scythe's edge of death did the dead in thier vast numbers fall silent. Now was one of those times that her sword style, improvised of several forms at once, came in handy. As was the case with one form, she was a shadowy blur for the sheer speed brought on by the Force. As was the case with another, shots were deflected. Every move was functional. Every move had purpose. Every reaction came without conscious thought...instead, they came by sheer animal reflex, just as they had with her second master, and with the Dark Lord she had killed.

The droids exploded one by one. They had locked onto her infrared signature and staggered thier fire to keep it as steady as possible. White plumes in the darkness spoke of the cold miasma around her growing. Before long, the coldness seemed to overwhelm what living heat radiated from her rapidly-moving body. Before long, the last droid was tricked by the explosion of another and sliced neatly into quarters.

There was a dark cackle that shattered the silence that followed. In the cold abyssal darkness, there was a plume of white that issued from her mouth as her breath condensed in the chill. "Yes, these emotions should have been unleashed sooner." Her control over them was growing with every breath.

There was a light that broke the darkness. "Ma'am, are you there?" asked a voice.

She turned, her eyes like those of some great hunitng beast stared amber into the figure. She sheathed her scimitar and pulled her hood over her face. Her voice betrayed nothing as she took her seat. "Yes Colonel, I am here, report." Her voice rang with the clarity and power of an empress again.

"Ma'am, we read no-joy out here at present."

"I copy no-joy. Maintain present position and continue to report."

"Copy that, Alpha Fleet out."

It would be an hour or so before Bravo fleet would make the same report. It was enough to make her wonder if the Republic did indeed have a military...though she knew better.

Her golden eyes stared in crisp contrast to the darkness at a galactic map as the holographic image spun in ghastly minature inches above her desk. There was one way to get thier attention...she'd have to take something of value.

"Attention Alpha and Bravo fleets, with the completion of Phase One, move to converge on Tatooine, repeat, move to converge on Tatooine. Ultra One out."

She sat in her chair still looking at that map. There was an expression used in the galaxy, and it seemed fitting. When you kick a wampa in the butt, you had better be ready to deal with the teeth. Now it was a matter of time before the Republic would react.

[Kayura]

Hours more had passed. She seemed to be tracking it all mentally as she set about the task of running a military operation. By now those ships from both fleets would be coming out of hyperspace at any given second.

Knowing she had the enmity of the others for her rank, she wanted to be sure she'd be secure. She'd need a bodyguard of one sort or another. Humans could be remarkably loyal, but that wasn't to be found here. Sith fatalism dictated that they would be too tempted to turn against her. That left droids (which could be reprogrammed) and animals. Her mind immediately began to conjure images of some of the more feared predators in the galaxy...on the top of that list was the Dark Wolf.

She thought about it more while she was going through an inventory of the things she had gained in killing the one who had this rank before her. A dark smile formed on her face as she took note of the alchemical equipment he had possessed. Her dark mind flashed to all the potential that possessed. Right away, she foresaw that great beast changing almost to a new species.

She was back at her desk looking at thier habitats and thinking of making an excusion when there was that man in a uniform appearing over her desk again. "Ma'am, we have secured Mos Isley. Bravo fleet is standing by as reinforcements."

An eyebrow went up. She hadn't issued that order, but she sensed in it some familiar logic. "Who issued that order?"

The figure seemed to grow a bit nervous at the question. "No one ma'am. "

"I see. It may prove to be a wiser maneuver on our part. Should the Republic strike, it will better serve to conceal our true numbers. Speaking of which, be weary of the sand people, they are natural snipers and they will be difficult to count for thier hunting tactics."

"Understood, ma'am. What is the policy on prisoners?"

There was a pause at that. Ordinarily it wouldn't even be a tactical consideration. The Sith largely didn't take prisoners. Her powerful eyes narrowed in callous thought as the alchemical equipment came to mind again. Her voice was soft, yet powerful as she nearly whispered in a white plume, "Take some of the sand people if you can. I may yet have plans for them and they will need to be brought here."

"Yes ma'am. Do you have any further orders Ultra One?"

"Negative, stand by for Republic strike in your current positions Alpha and Bravo fleets."

By then a second figure had apeared on her desk on the same channel. Both snapped off crisp salutes as they answered in unison.

"Understood, Alpha fleet out."
"Understood, Bravo fleet out."

It was stunning that they had yet to come under any resistance. Her brows furrowed in silent thought. By now she had become truly sleepless and devoted much of her time turning the Sith order into the $ith Order. The Republic showed no sign of defending itself even as they stirred. Could it have been a trap? That was certainly a possibility. They had Tatooine, that was one planet, but hardly Coruscant. She had already laid the groundwork for another attack to come.

She checked her funds. The worms were still doing what they had been before. Gliding effortlessly through the entire Holonet by now, they were sheering off just a tiny bit every time all the time. That tiny bit was adding up into enough money for the Council to take notice. They had called a meeting and given her rank, she'd sit as chairman.

One last look at a tactical map she had begun to keep showed the three planets added to the range of Sith control. Shaking her head before discussing matters of money with the Council, she sighed, "By god, is the Republic handing over the galaxy?"