The TIE Defender shook as an explosion rocked the small craft. Another close call, but that is that is the life of a TIE Pilot. The TIE Defender rolled downwards and cut the throttle and pulled back hard. His TIE quickly came about and his targeting brackets lit with an instant lock on his opponent. The pilot squeezed the trigger and four lances of green deadly energy shot out toward the incoming fighter, a Z-95 Headhunter. The headhunter pilot had not expected this prey to turn about so quickly, his mistake. The four bolts of energy lanced through the Z-95 quickly, then a bright fireball took its place in space. The TIE Defender shot through the debris of the old fighter craft and back to it’s home, The Sovereign class Supper Star Destroyer –Sovereign.

The large ship loomed ahead of the TIE, almost taking up the whole viewport. The huge ship was a city in space. It’s rumored to be the largest ship in existence, but the pilot didn’t care, it was home. He came into the massive hangar bays of the large ship. To his surprise there were ground crew cheering at him as he cut in his repulsor lifts. He set down gently and shut down the ion engines, as the crowd grew closer. Finally he could smile, a smile that he had each time after a battle, the smile at the completion of another mission and the racking up of even more enemy fighters in the defense of his home, his Sovereign. His hatch opened and he climbed out and found the ladder. He climbed down most of the way and jumped the rest. He immediately came upon the crowd who was cheering him and his squadron as they also landed near him. A wall of smiling faces was all around him as he picked out one he recognized. He quickly came to attention and snapped a perfect Imperial salute to his Wing Commander, GN Brian. GN Brian came to within a few feet and returned the Major’s salute. GN Brian smiled at Major Joe and his 12 pilots of Resh Squadron. " Good work Resh!"

"Thank you sir" replied Major Joe with a grin.

"If that A-wing patrol reported our position, the whole operation would have been shot. It’s lucky you jumped out of Hyperspace when you did, and where you did." General Brian explained.

"It was exactly that sir, pure luck. We had just finished our attack on the New Republic Cruiser and after we were done cleaning up all the escaping craft, we jumped back to the Sovereign. The Six A-Wings were only 5 klicks infront of us, so we engaged. The Z-95s came in right behind us."

"Yeah, and it seems your getting rusty Major, that one Headhunter almost decapitated you!" Colonel Pel exclaimed from beside Joe.

"Yeah you wish" Joe replied with a smile.

"Enough you two, Fleet Admiral Kramer is awaiting all of us in the de-briefing room. He wants to know about your mission" General Brian added.

"Our mission was standard sir, nothing special about blowing up one of the newest New Republic Cruisers." Major Joe exclaimed with a very big grin.

" Save your chat for later Major, get your squad to the Briefing Room!" General Brian exclaimed as he marched off to meet Fleet Admiral Kramer.

Major Joe turned to Resh Squadron who was again in perfect formation. " Alright Resh, good work with the mission. FA Kramer wishes to have a word with us. Phoenix, no wise cracks." He mentioned with a grin.

"Who? Me?" Captain Phoenix exclaimed with an innocent smile. The rest of Resh squadron exchanged some chuckles as they proceeded to the Wing Six De-Briefing room. When all twelve members of Resh arrived, they immediately went to their chairs and stood at attention behind them.

" Take your seats." Said Fleet Admiral Kramer, Commodore of the SSSD Sovereign. Resh Squadron took their seats and looked at Kramer, waiting.

"First off I would like to thank you on behalf of the Grand Admiral himself, your heroism in battle and the fact that you saved this operation from being found out by the Rebels will not go without notice." Kramer said with all seriousness. A few smiles spread across some of the pilot’s lips. Major Joe shot Phoenix a glare, as he was about to open his mouth, Phoenix quickly stopped.

" Major Joe, during your attack on the Rebel Cruiser, did you or any of your pilots notice anything, out of the ordinary?" asked Kramer as he took a chair at the head of the long black table. After going back through the battle in his mind for a few seconds he nodded.

" Yes sir." Joe said slowly.

"Explain Major." Said Kramer.

" Well sir, as Colonel Pel’s flight was finishing their final bomb run on the Cruiser, many shuttles started to flee the ship with escorts." Joe said.

"That’s nothing unusual Major." Said Kramer, still very serious as he always is.

"I know that sir. But what is unusual is the fact that the Captain’s Escort Shuttle was not guarded by any fighters.." Joe said slowly.

"Granted that is not usual, it is nothing that hasn’t been seen before." Kramer explained.

"At least nothing we could see sir.." Joe finally said. That caught the Admiral’s attention.

" Go on" Kramer ordered.

"Well sir. During that time, I made the closest sweep to the Captain’s shuttle as I could to confirm that it was his. At that time I was locked onto by a fighter or some gun of some sort, but as I veered away at a high angle, nothing was behind me. I then took the risk of looking at the sensor logs and found a discrepancy in them." Joe pushed on, " Well sir, as I was at my closest point to the shuttle, my sensors showed no less than 4 sensor black holes sir."

"What do you mean, sensor black holes Major?" Brian finally said.

" It seemed like my sensors bended around four objects in time and space, they were being reflected as if nothing was there sir." Joe explained.

Fleet Admiral Kramer thought for a long moment, then looked at the Major. " Very interesting Major, is there anything else you can give us?"

Joe nodded, " Yes sir. I took the liberty of pulling up some files on my hyperspace trip back home, and I seen some rumors of a new Rebel fighter craft. One that matches the TIE Defender in maneuverability and firepower, and that a cloaking device that can be used in combat. I am positive that if this craft exists sir, Resh squadron and I just flew against it. If so, I doubt the Rebels think we know of their technology, and that we can identify it. That could give us a strong advantage in the future." Joe said with a serious face.

Kramer nodded and stood; Resh squadron quickly stood at attention as Kramer left the room.

"As you were," Brian said. He then looked at Joe.

" Is what you said accurate Major?"

" Yes sir. Check my sensor logs." Replied Joe.

" Sir?" Said Phoenix and Pel almost at the same time.

Joe nodded to Pel; " Go ahead Colonel.

"Major I also had a sensor, well "problem" the same as yours during the battle. My sensor log might prove useful in the future," Pel said.

" Same with mine sirs, looked like some Rebel Ghost." Explained LT Gerona from the end of the table.

" Alright, Ill have the techs look at all of the sensor logs and analyze them. From now on this information is Top Secret. No one is to talk about it without authorization. Doing so is a serious crime. Understood?" Brian said slowly. Resh nodded in return.

"Good, Dismissed. Major Joe, Colonel Pel, and Captain Phoenix. A word with you all?" Brian asked.

The three officers came close to Brian and looked at the young General.

" You did good work out there, you made Wing 6 very proud of you. Keep it up! Also, you will probably be called into a meeting in the future about these.. Ghost ships, Understood?" Brian said.

"Yes sir!" said all three pilots.

"Good, now get some rest, that’s an order" Brain said with a smile.

"No problem sir. Say, can I borrow the key to your liquor cabinet sir?" Joe said with a grin.

"Heck no! I keep the strong stuff where I like it! With me! You know some people in the Admiral’s lounge don’t you? Go bribe that bouncer Zoltar, he’s a friend of yours. Now shoo before I get Kramer’s scorpions after you!" Brian said laughing.

"Whoa now! Let’s not get mean here," said Captain Phoenix as the three officers left the room in a hurry.

As the celebration of victory died down in the cantina and most of the pilots have went back to their quarters to sleep off all that they just consumed, four officers were left at the table. Major Joe look out upon this group of officers that he considers a group of his best friends. Captain Phoenix was still going at it, as usual, he never knew when to quit. He’ll wish he wasn’t still drinking when he wakes up tomorrow. Joe then glanced upon General Brian. Brian was a young General indeed, but that was not counted against him when measuring up the experience and sheer determination of the veteran pilot. Brian was now drinking caf to try and lessen the pain when he wakes up tomorrow. Finally, his gaze fell upon Colonel Pel. Pel was a young man, more so than Joe was, but like General Brian, he possessed the same qualities that Brian had within as well. Pel was staring down into his mug of caf. Joe grinned a little and queried, "What’s wrong Pel?"

The Colonel looked upon the Major slowly and grinned. " I want my Wing Commander position back!" Pel joking whined. Brian chuckled as did Joe, though Phoenix really didn’t know where or who he was at this point laughed also. Joe smiled and offered his friend a pat on the back. " Don’t worry, you have a lot of friends in the higher ranked members. You’ll get back there eventually. I just hope I can join you soon’ Joe said with a grin.

Pel smiled , " You’ll get a command soon enough. But knowing how you usually pop up out of no where, in combat and the Fleet in general. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a Commodore position instead!" Pel added with a chuckle.

"As an ex of mine used to say, ‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’" Joe said chuckleing, Brian and Pel joined quickly.

Brian slowly started to stand and straighten his uniform. "It’s been fun, really. But I need to get some sleep. Major, Colonel.." Brian nodded to each in turn then looked at the now passed out Phoenix and he sighs. " Never knows when to quit."
Joe and Pel started laughing as Brian left with a chuckle. Pel looks at Phoenix and gives Joe that evil grin.

"No Pel, not tonight. Bad Pel." Joe said slowly, grinning.

"What?!? I’m innocent! I wasn’t thinking anything!" Pel exclaimed trying to fool Joe with his best innocent smile.

"Uh huh, sure." Joe said as he got to his feet. "Come on, help me get him to his quarters."

Pel stood and took hold of Phoenix under his arms and pulled, hauling him up as Joe took his feet and lifted. Together the men took the passed out Captain to his quarters, where Joe talked Pel out of yet another prank. They left the pilot’s quarters and proceeded to their own.

The flash of light came quickly and bright, almost so that Joe couldn’t see when he rolled out of his bunk, blaster in hand at the ready. "Whoa Major!! Put that down!" a voice ordered. Joe put down the blaster and stood, a groan escaping his lips.

"If this isn’t important I am going to severely beat you into a living pulp Commander." Said Joe slowly, eyes focusing on his early morning intruder. "General Brian sent me here to get you up! I swear!" Exclaimed the Commander. Joe shook his head quickly to get rid of the sleep tugging at his eyes. He returned to his bed, sitting this time. " What does he want Ryan?" Commander Ryan ‘Nemesis’ Halcyon stood a little distance from Joe. The young Ra Squadron Commander looked at Joe uneasily. "A Wing Commander’s meeting has been called Sir."

"So? Those are for Wing Commanders and the higher ups only." Joe said slowly, rising out of bed.

" I know that sir. Brian couldn’t tell me anything except that it was about your mission yesterday." Ryan said. Joe looked at Ryan a minute, then nodded. "Thank you Ryan, Dismissed." Ryan saluted Joe and left. Joe was dressed shortly after. He double checked his uniform and straightened his medals. He smiled, as he looked at his new medal sparkling brilliantly, the Grand Order of the Emperor. He then exited his quarters and proceeded to the designated meeting area. A grinning General Brian soon greeted him. "Good morning Major." Brian said. "Morning? So THAT’s what you call it when you wake up before noon!" Joe said sarcastically, which brought a chuckle from Brian. At that moment, Sector Admiral Compton stood at the head of the long meeting table and nodded to the crowd of Wing Commanders and other Flag Officers of the Fleet. Everyone took his or her seats smartly. Compton was the XO of the fleet. He was strong and very athletic with strong ties through out the Empire. When he spoke his voice carried and everyone listened. He was respected highly by everyone. Compton took a deep breath and the meeting began. "What you hear in this room stays in this room. There has been a recent sighting by our own pilots of a new Rebel craft, or lack there of. Major Joe was out with his squadron on an attack mission on the new, now old, New Republic Cruiser Yavin Wind. It was reported by several Officers of Resh Squadron that escorting the Captain’s escaping shuttle, four fighter sized, "Ghost" ships. This fighter craft uses a type of cloaking device that bends our sensor signals around their craft, rendering them invisible. The Emperor’s Hammer Command Staff have known of this new threat before now. The name of the craft is still unknown, as is its capabilities. The only EH fighter pilots who have had contact are Resh Squadron. Their sensors logs are the basis for this meeting, save for one other." Added Compton. Joe was hard at work replying the mission in his head, wondering who else could have been in the area. Before he could finish Compton continued, " Before the attack on the Cruiser, we sent a flight of Gunboats from Aylin squadron for Recon. There, they dropped 2 probes unknown to the Rebels. During the battle itself, the probes collected data. In that data, we discovered the Rebel "Ghost" fighters existence and actually frequency of their cloaking harmonics.

After a long meeting with the Grand Admiral Ronin, the Flight Officer-AD Kessler and myself, I am here to announce to all of you, that beginning immediately, we are going to stop all production and hopefully eliminate all fighters and prototypes." That brought on a lot of smiles and cheers. Compton grinned and nodded to all assembled. "This will be a fleet wide operation. The Sovereign will be the lead ship for this operation of course. Major Joe and Resh Squadron will train all pilots on what to look for. Wing Commanders, you will be trained as well." Groans came from most of the Wing Commanders present, save for one, General Brian. Joe sized up the operation at this point, all the resources going into this. It’s too much, at best all they would need is maybe 2-3 ISDs and their escorts. But the Sovereign? No way they would need 7 Wings of TIE craft, that is a LOT of TIEs! Something is up, its time to check with my "connections" on this. Hopefully I can get some answers here. Joe returned his attention to Compton as he was telling the members of the meeting of their assignments. Wing Six was the primary operation wing for this assignment. Joe just hoped it wasn’t a fatal error.

Soon after, Major Joe was sitting at the viewport of the officer’s lounge, starring out into vast nothingness. As he gazed he watched all the traffic coming in and out of the TRIAD group of Platforms. All the fighters buzzing around, all the Corvettes were practicing Maneuvers. He noticed one Corvette in particular, the Modified Corvette Harbor. The Harbor was a new ship; it was recently commissioned into the Imperial Fleet. Joe also knew of the totally rookie crew this ship contained. Only the top 10 officers of the ship have had combat experience of any sort. He knew that if they didn’t practice till they dropped from exaushtion due to practicing all the time, they wouldn’t be ready for the coming battles, and they wouldn’t survive.

A fast moving object caught the Major’s eye, the Imperial Star Destroyers- Relentless and Immortal were going to accompany the Sovereign on her task. A welcome sight indeed. A grin moved slowly across his lips, his hearing was very good as he heard someone behind him. "Nice to see you Colonel." Joe slowly added.

"Well great. How did you know?" Pel said a little on the mad side. Joe chuckled and sipped his hot cocoa and closed his eyes to savor the taste. "Your one of a kind Pel, can’t tell you, I’d give away my secrets." Said Joe.

"Blah." Pel sighed and took a chair next to Joe. Joe gazed at one of his oldest friends, and newest Flight Leader.

"What’s up with you?" Pel asked.

"I can't tell you, or I’d have to kill you." Joe said slowly, grinning evilly.

"Ha Ha, very funny. But really, what’s wrong with you?" Pel asked yet again. Joe looked down, then out into space.

"I don’t know. I feel kinda empty." Joe said slowly.

"Oh? Define empty."

"Well…" Joe shook his head. "Don’t worry about it. What are you up to?"

"Nothing, bored crazy really." Pel added with a yawn. Joe chuckled. "Did Phoenix ever wake up?" asked Joe. Pel suddenly laughed very hard, Joe immediately groaned. "Oh great, now what?" Joe asked.

"Well, while you were at your meeting, I checked on our Captain, to find him still asleep. So, I…well, I put his hand in warm water and left." Pel said, finally calming down. Joe put his head in his hands, shaking it. "You're bad, you're just bad."

Pel grinned and bowed. "Why thank you!"

Joe’s comlink came to life suddenly. "Major Joe, the training is about to start. Gather your pilots and meet me outside main hangar’s doors. All 9 Wings that have been assigned to this operation are going to be there for you to brief" General Brian said, the grin is almost auditory. Joe groaned as Pel, again, laughed. "9 Wings?? How so many??" Joe asked, surprised.

"Well the Sov’s 7 Wings and the 2 Wings from our two escort ISDs." General Brian added. "Oh. Alright sir, Resh Squadron will be there in a few minutes," Joe said, shutting off his comlink and standing. "Get your flight and Phoenix’s Ready, have all of Resh meet me in the Squadron ready room" Joe said.

"Aye Aye Sir!" said Pel as he quickly turned and left. Joe took that moment and gazed out at the stars again. "To have someone.." Joe said softly and quickly shaking his head. "Not the time for this Major, get your act together and show the EH what you got" Joe quickly turned on his heals, and walked out the door to the ready room. This is going to be fun. Joe thought as a smile crossed his lips. Its time for a long fight with the Rebels that has been long overdue.