Combat log. Battlegroup Commander for Battlegroup III, Vice Admiral Locke Setzer reporting. Day #23 of the Battle of Tkon Rift.

For a moment, it was quiet.

After the skirmish at planet P3069, we agreed upon a course towards the center of the system for our large fleet, with our smaller fleets continuing on the course we had laid out for them, responsible for liberating different systems still under Kilji control.

We had a plan. A direction. Momentum and hope.

I had picked up work again on my lightsaber. Now satisfied with its progress, I could finally sit and tinker at the hardest part - the crystal energy chamber. I had my primary crystal, of course, and was content with how it was sitting in the focusing crystal activator, but the focusing crystals I had acquired… weren’t just aligning how I thought they should.

I had just managed to slide them into place when the klaxons began blaring.

We were under attack.

One of the duty officers barged into my office, giving me an immediate sitrep as we hurried to the command center.

The fleet from before had crashed into the same sector of space. Neither side seemed prepared for the confrontation - they were struggling to launch fighters just as much as we were. But neither would back away. The numbers were too evenly matched. And the opportunity, too great.

Orders went out to deal with the immediate problem. But news soon arrived, regarding our other forces, hitting like one domino after the other. The Grey Wolf had been intercepted again, cornered into another fight by the Kilji command ship, one it could not win. Our forces sent to liberate G5406 had instead encountered the enemy, at numbers they could not match. Planet A5684, recently liberated, was under Kilji control again. In a matter of hours, it was likely all systems would be under Kilji control.

And here we were, the majority of our forces, pinned down in another fight, unable to move.

With orders given, I took my leave of the command deck, momentarily. Unusual, for a battle… but there were other orders to be given. I returned to my office, picking up the pieces of the lightsaber.

Not perfect. Never perfect. But they would have to do.

I began to connect them, as the door to my office opened. This time it wasn’t my duty officer. Instead, it was a robed figure, who merely stayed at the threshold, not entering my office. Simply waiting for the command.

We could wait no longer.

“It’s time.” I told them.

The robed figure quickly disappeared. No need for complex order or instructions, not with members of the Secret Order.

I looked down at my hastily assembled lightsaber. All this time of meticulous preparation, and when the critical moment came, I rushed through it as quickly as I could. But there was no more time to plan or prepare.

There was only time for action.

I flipped the switch, and was relieved when the red blade emerged from the emitter. A few practice swipes seemed to indicate its stability. It would have to do, I decided.

I switched it off and clipped it onto my belt loop, then hurried back to the command center. The reports were already coming back in.

Analysis of enemy ships was complete. Weak points were now being targeted appropriately, with information being sent over to pilots on the fly for their immediate use.

Our overall strategic approach had shifted. We were refocusing our approach on the lower sectors, based on enemy movements to date and past actions witnessed in their own simulated battles.

And the news had begun to trickle in. Ships, previously thought destroyed, captured, or damaged beyond repair, were beginning to report in, taking up position again at the Tkon Rift.

The seeds the Secret Order had been planting in this sector during this fight had begun to produce fruit.

Now it was time for harvest.

We finished our immediate fight, again damaging the enemy, again pulling back to a defensive position. It was similar to what had happened mere days before. But now, the fight has changed. Now, all of our cards are on the table. Our fleet liberates the planets in the lower quadrants. We position ourselves to secure the center, then move northwards. We leave the enemy no quarter for any other movement.

If they want control of this system, they’ll have to come down to us and try to take it.

Let them try.

End log.