128 ABY - The Sith-Imperial War - Turning Point/Chapter One: The Approach

[b]The Galactic Situation[/b]

Three months into 128 ABY, the Galactic Situation shifts. In the Empire, pressures are building within the Moff Council and Imperial Knights. Knights are gathering support to convince the Emperor to change his stance. After defeat at Makem Te, Kiffu and Ord Mantell now since the new year rolled on, the Empire is looking increasingly isolated from the Alliance and larger Galaxy.

The Battle of Borosk saw three Alliance fleets led by Master [b]Wolf Sazen[/b] engage a fortress world that led to Bastion, capital of the Empire, engaging two Imperial Fleets and the Imperial flagship, the [i]Eternal Blade[/i]. By the end of that battle, one Alliance fleet was destroyed and the fortress world completely devastated. Touted as a victory by the Empire, whom was led by Emperor [b]Roan Fel[/b] and Grand Admiral [b]Morlish Veed[/b], the Alliance instead saw it as a simple draw. True, one of the two Alliance fleets remaining was battered, but the two fleets had retreated unimpeded to occupy the Imperial munitions world of Adumar, capturing the low-tech world with relative ease.

The Mid Rim of the Empire is becoming increasingly compromised, and its extended limb from Mandalore to Concord Dawn looks shaky now that the Galactic Alliance has launched a further two fleets at Taris. Having lost there some eight months before, the Alliance is determined to retake the world. Grandmaster [b]Kol Skywalker[/b] himself leads the battle, with Masters [b]Lowbacca, Verden Pinder[/b] and [b]Dhartal[/b], as well as Knights [b]Sentarin[/b] and [b]Tir'vana[/b]. Padawans [b]Cade Skywalker, Shado Vao[/b] and [b]Kreassk[/b] are valiantly fighting against the Empire's Admiral [b]Matthias Kya[/b], who has manipulated the Imperial Knights into combat, and combats the Alliance with the knowledge that he is defeated - but he hopes to cost the Alliance so much it cannot call this a victory.

The Imperial fleets number only nine, and are slowly being reduced in size, while the Alliance ones number eleven, with one of those in drydock at Coruscant.

Yet, the Battle of Borosk had undertones that threaten the Galaxy at large. On the surface of the planet the deranged Imperial Knight [b]Eydan Skorne[/b] defended his equally mad prisoner [b]Simeon Ternor[/b], both of whom were having visions about Eydan Skorne's untimely death at the hands of a blue bladed Jedi.

Shortly before the Battle of Borosk that Jedi, [b]Kira Kira Romar[/b], arrived with a small scouting bomber from the Woltarin refugee fleet, the [i]Astraal Queen[/i] under Captain [b]Ulysses[/b]. Pentrating Borosk's defences, they sought to release Simeon, not realising his true potential as, at very best, a madman.

A Twilight Jedi, Simeon was a member of a Force using cult that had deviated from the Jedi Order some four decades ago. Three decades ago, their leader, Grandmaster [b]Kogun Shay[/b], was imprisoned by [b]Darth Krayt[/b], who usurped control of the Twilight Jedi - Force users who dabbled in the light and the dark. Since then, secretly, these Twilight Jedi have been molded into a separare Jedi Order, ruining the reputation of the Jedi around the Galaxy.

Eydan Skorne clashed with Kira Romar as Captain Ulysses freed Simeon with Major [b]Tahnan[/b], the Imperial Knights anger and despair dipping him into the penumbra of the Dark Side. Captured and severely injured, Knight Romar was presented to the Emperor, who agreed to keep her in exchange for Eydan Skorne leaving to join the Jedi Order, allowing him to be healed.

However, that did not come to pass. Stoking bubbling anger, [b]Darth Imperi[/b], the old apprentice of [b]Darth Maladi[/b], contacted Eydan Skorne and used the Emperor's personal troops to try and kill the Imperial Knight. Fleeing, the deal between the Emperor and Kira Romar was scuttled, and Darth Imperi left, following Eydan Skorne to Ryloth, where four Jedi attempted an assasination attempt of the Knight - Twilight Jedi seeking to turn Skorne to the Dark Side.

As Eydan Skorne abandoned his Empire, Simeon fled from Jedi Master Sazen, whom had taken responsibility for the deranged madman, taking the crew of the [i]Astraal Queen[/i] with him. Simeon led the crew to assault Grand Admiral Veed's personal ship, whom had his partner, [b]Nyna Calixte[/b] of Imperial Intelligence, onboard. Overwhelming the undercrewed ship - its onboard troops had been assigned to the recovery of Borosk - the crew pushed deeper into the ship. Simeon abandoned the crew to their fate when Wolf Sazen, following in his TwinTail, boarded, hooking up with Kira Romar as she herself fled the Empire.

Darth Maladi was forced to intervene to save Veed and Calixte, but the proximity of Sazen forced her to flee, abandoning the pair of Sith allies to the mercy of Captain Ulysses, whom had his own vendetta - before the war, Grand Admiral Veed's personal forces had launched an assault on Ulysses homeworld, devastating it and wiping out two billion Woltarins. Elements of that species jumped in-system to get revenge and retrieve the crew of the [i]Astraal Queen[/i], to be engaged by the Emperor himself.

The Sith themselves have struck the Force cults of the Galaxy, taking control of some and destroying others outright. The Jensaari have been neutralised by a team including Darth's [b]Nihl[/b] and [b]Verrick[/b], as well as Lord [b]Ky'el[/b] and [b]Raven[/b]. Contacting [b]Petra Tarkin[/b], a Sith agent that is the President of Eriadu as well, they intend, by using the Twilight Jedi, to create a Confederacy from the Alliance rebels, whom have thus far been unco-ordinated. [b]Sou Jin[/b] and [b]Darth Talon[/b] are heading to neutralise the leader of the Korunnai on Haruun Kal, [b]Kar Yinsor[/b], and complete the moat Tarkin and Krayt have been digging around Eriadu. As a step towards these actions, the Sith have been undermining the Alliance on key worlds such as Corellia, Denon and Yag'Dhul. [b]Canistia[/b] and [b]Darth Bison[/b], led by [b]Darth Maleval[/b], have made efforts to take control of the Yag'Dhul station-based defences, so they can be turned against the Givin fleet and eighteen Jedi in-system.

Chief among the rebel states, however, is the Hutts, who have retaken much of the territory they lost to the Alliance after the Yuuzhan Vong War, and have extended as far Coreward as the Stenness Node. At the ancient world of Ambria, however, Hutt agents under Devan Ferrier, commanding the [i]Chromium Crusader[/i], have engaged, to their surprise, two fighters flown by Sith, whom have been assigned to defend the world for reasons unknown. Equally unknwon is the reason why the Hutts are interested in such a system, completely lacking in infrastructure for the Hutts to corrupt.

On Coruscant itself, two Sith have pentrated the heart of the Alliance on a mission of assassination, but have since been sidetracked by a thief stealing items of theres. [b]Plo Wanderguard[/b] and [b]Darth Nemesis[/b] are seeking the perpetrator even now, though their target may soon become impossible to find - and Darth Krayt isn't reknowned for his forgiving side.

The Empire, however, is experiencing internal problems beyond the normal scheming of the Moff Council. Even with the Empire outnumbered and outgunned, the Chiss have yet to fully dedicate themselves to the war. The Ruling Council on Csilla has dispatched an envoy to the Emperor, but the envoy, [b]Suan'der'tann[/b] and Imperial Knight bodyguard, [b]Jaycen Bryce[/b], were shot down during the Battle of Borosk, yanked out of hyperspace by the Imperial fleet inadvertedly, and have yet to meet the Emperor.

On Nirauan, the capital of the Empire of the Hands remnants, which have fallen under Csilla's auspices and thus not dedicated themselves fully, the Princess [b]Marasiah Fel[/b] has been training alongside her fellow apprentices [b]Ganner Kreig[/b] and [b]Aya Merasi[/b], whom are being taught by [b]Sey Pachrias[/b]. Intervening in a local dispute, the Imperial Knights found themselves facing six Jedi assassins - little did they know, the Jedi were more of Krayts Twilight Jedi.

At Mon Calamari, the main shipyards of the Alliance, the Imperial fleet has made moves to siege the planet. The Imperial Fifth Fleet under Admiral [b]Yubari[/b] has arrived at Concord Dawn, a world close to the Perlemian, and is preparing, alongside Mandalorian forces and the local Imperial fleet, to break the balance of power between Mon Calamari, Concord Dawn and the greater Perlemian. Both sides could survive an offensive by the other, but are stuck of they attack first. While the Empire has more forces, thanks to the arrival of the Fifth, the Alliance has the formidable defences of Mon Calamari to call upon.

The crippled Fourth and Fifth fleet remnants at Adumar have gathered into one fleet group, and have been withdrew to Coruscant. To replace it, Coruscant has dispatched the Third Fleet to assist the Eleventh Fleet in securing Adumar. The Fifth had ostensibly assigned to the offensive at Taris, but had instead launched from Ithor for Borosk to support the outmatched fleets there. The Third is enroute to Adumar, complete with various Interdictor Star Destroyers, worth a Scythe-class cruiser a piece like their Imperial counterparts, descendents of the [i]Mon Mothma[/i] and [i]Elegos A'kla[/i], notable ships that served in the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Simultaneously, the Yuuzhan Vong, ostensibly at the center of the war due to the actions of their Shapers in the Ossus Project, have became active again. Rearming in the Unknown Regions since an Unknown Terror devastated one of their colony worlds several decades ago, [b]Warmaster Nas Choka[/b] has, seemingly with the blessing of Magister [b]Harrar[/b] and [b]Zonama Sekot[/b], contacted Admiral [b]Gar Stazi[/b] and Jedi Master [b]Bosa Nejeco[/b], the heroes of the Battles of Makem Te and Ord Mantell, accounting for three PSDs in their campaign with a task force that would struggle with one such vessel, with a plan that will end with an attack on Bastion itself - the throneworld of the Empire.

However, the state of the Galaxy is slowly being determined by the state of the war in the Force. The Kiffu Guardians have sided with the Empire, and the Chiss Tann family, descended from Sevrance Tann, the Darksider who led the Droid Army in the opening weeks of the Clone Wars, are nominally sided with them. The Imperial Knights, however, have not been allowed to join the war, though it is becoming more difficult for them to do so. At Makem Te, one negotiated a peace, and at Ord Mantell, the Knights abandoned the Imperial Navy, fleeing rimward. However, at Taris, four Knights have been manipulated by Admiral Kya into an assault on Kol Skywalkers flagship, who himself has been forced to contend with two Twilight Jedi.

At the Battle of Kiffu, the Jedi and Imperial Knights have crossed blades, with the actions of rogue Knight [b]Dak Tonnacry[/b] accelerating the issue to the point that [b]Kai[/b], a Jedi Knight, has refused to step out of the path of him and Imperial Knight [b]Antares Draco[/b]. Meanwhile. [b]Tenk Qatar[/b] seeks to negotiate with the Kiffu Guardians in a move that may neutralise the cult, and [b]Alister Vornau[/b] has infiltrated the Imperial Mission on the planet, not yet realising that Moff [b]Yage[/b], the man who manipulated Dak Tonnacry into attacking the Jedi, has not purged the Missions computers of the Imperial Order of Battle - the location of every ship, army and Moff in the Galaxy noted down in one document. Combined, the Battle of Kiffu may have consequences on a galactic scale.

The Sith, active from the worlds of Korriban and Roon, have taken control of the Jensaari and Twilight Jedi, based on Suarbi and Utapau, and have made steps to securing the Korunnai, raising their own strength. Yet, for all of that, the most apparent and numerous force in the Galaxy is the Jedi Order. Six thousand strong, the Order has dedicated themselves to fighting the war, fighting from Ossus and Coruscant.

However, there are numerous other cults that have yet to choose a side in the GA-Imperial War. The Daothmiri Witches are particularly split between the Alliance and Empire, especially as the Nightsisters remain prevalent. The Nightsisters wish to join the Empire, and the Witches wish to follow Hapes - a planet they've become closer and closer to under the recent Queen Mother - and stay neutral. However, the Witches feel an affinty to the Jedi, and with Hapes dedicated to defending all its worlds from enemy aggression - including Daothmir, its 64th member world - the situation has a possibility of shaping the war in the area, especially as Daothmir is nominally behind the Imperial line.

Maanan, a world on the border of the Galactic Alliance, is also increasingly split. Despite declaring neutrality alongside Thyferra in the conflict, the two hundred Force users that it has had since the Galactic Civil War are concerned. Although they served Darth Vader during the Galactic Civil War, they have a natural affinity to the Jedi themselves, thanks to the legacy of Revan, the long-dead and long-redeemed Sith Lord.

Further rimward, the Followers of Palawa, whom have fought the Jedi and the Sith at varying times, have felt a need to intervene. Sensing that the Force is rapidly becoming imbalanced, the ancient cult, as old as the Jedi Order itself, wishes to intervene to restore peace, but is more concerned with who to support than why. They've been manipulated by Jedi and Sith, and aren't interested in being so again.

Others remain secret and unaligned, or unapproachable. Unknown to the Galaxy, the Aing-Tii monks wiped out a Sith party approaching them with an offer, and other groups have started watching the war with intense interest.

So while the war in the Galaxy swings in the Alliance's favour, the war in the Force is slowly but surely slipping into the favour of the Empire. Should the Sith insinuate themselves into the war effort directly, the balance of the war may slip entirely.

The turning point is approaching.