Chapter 1

Nullin Terra wasn't your typical officer. When it came to command he was not only unorthodox, but he also had a shadow to get out from under: Grand Admiral Thrawn. Though they were from the same species the two men were very different in how they commanded, and their personalities.

Thrawn was the classic commander strategically brilliant, and emotionally contained, Nullin while highly intelligent was an improviser, and won by nerve and instinct. Thrawn was popular with his superiors following the rules and regulations. Nullin was popular with his subordinates and peers. For him the mission and the people were paramount, not the established order of things. He would obey orders as he expected everyone who worked for him to, but his style wasn't traditional.

In the battle of Pegos III a small imperial fleet was sent to engage a pirate group that had been raiding along the outer rim. Stationed at the local shipyards that were important to the local Moff Nullin added to his existing fleet, creating new ships. Using ship designs he had thought up Nullin created ten ships about the size of a Corellian Corvette, but with a lot more punch. Their arsenal was explosive packed capsules fired from specialized launch tubes. The ships required little manning to run them, trading personal quarters, and stations for space to store the capsules and firing systems.

Setting them in the forefront he waited for the Pirate attack, using his new Mobile Launchers or MLs he had them fire everything they had, using the ML's sensor package they tracked their targets easily, hammering them with constant fire. Shields on the main pirate ships, which included Dreadnoughts and other capital vessels failed soon afterwards. Soon afterwards those same ships were heavily damaged, if not quite destroyed. All this happened before the pirates had a chance to close the distance with the imperial vessels to fire their own weapons.

The MLs had a superior fire range, which they had used to their full advantage. Emptying their entire arsenal they retreated to the rear to restock in case they were needed again. Nullin ended up not needing them again, as his fleet destroyed all the pirates who did not flee immediately afterwards. All of the other imperial captains knew Nullin, and trusted his leadership capabilities.

It was resounding victory that left no doubt that he deserved to be promoted to the rank of admiral. It was position he wouldn't have gotten if every man who owed Nullin his life in the fleet hadn't put their support behind his advancement. After the battle he received two interdictor cruisers, whose gravity wells could stop a ship from jumping into hyperspace. Using them he hunted down the remainder of the pirate fleet, capturing much of their ships and crews. The captured ships he refitted, and molded into his rag tag fleet, greatly increasing its size.

While his superiors agreed to give him the rank of admiral, Nullin was kept in the Outer Rim territories, never returning to the Core. His victories though many in number never advanced him further, as Nullin was a private embarrassment of the imperial navy: A non-human who had risen to the rank of admiral. While Grand Admiral Thrawn had been accepted and promoted, it was because he had connections Nullin didn't.

Moff Sel Nevis was intent on seeing what else Nullin could build for him. When Nullin was not out fighting off the occasional criminal who stepped out of line, he was building a new type of ship for the Moff that would improve the Moff's standing among his rivals: The Juggernaught.

Half the size of a small moon it would be a prototype of a ship meant to be able to take on almost any size of fleet. Even when greatly outnumbered it would literally outgun its opponents, filling space with turbolasers, ion cannons, photon torpedoes, and ion torpedoes. While the ion cannons, and torpedoes could not only allow ships to be captured, they also could knock out shields and firing systems, allowing the Juggernaught's more lethal weapons to destroy them easily.

In multiple tests the huge ship had proven its worth against dummy ships and simulations. If it had one fault it was that eventually firing systems would overheat under the strain after going through numerous tests in a row. The massive complement of weapons was far more than any other ship previously built, and was the cause of this problem. Nullin was forced to try out new firing systems, including targeting scanners to help aid his gunners. When the Juggernaught went full bore it could literally create a wall of fire power lighting up space. When firing manually this did not help targeting enemy vessels.

The fighters on the Virulant were three times the amount of a star destroyer, along with the other support craft other military vessels carried. The fighters could take off multiple bays while protected by the Virulant's guns. Nullin could virtually overwhelm his enemy with squadrons of tie interceptors and bombers. He had even managed to acquire a few tie advanced for long range strikes and reconnaissance.

As big as the Juggernaught was it wasn't a fast ship, but then again it didn't need to be. If put in a planet's orbit it could easily be maintained, and protect the planet from just about anyone who came calling. Even if the odds were not in its favor it could hold its own, blooding the nose of the enemy, and allow the imperials to evacuate before jumping away itself.

The Moff liked a second function which Nullin didn't like to advertise: It was also a mobile space station. With it you could land invasion forces on a planet, or obliterate its surface, leveling everything. Nullin had built it purely for defensive purposes, while the Moff saw new possibilities.

Finally Nevis would prove that he belonged back in the core, instead of out here ruling these backwater worlds. Even now he hated Tarkin and the political maneuver the older Moff had used to place Nevis out here. With his precious "Death Star" he gained the ear of the Emperor and his full support. Nevis had welcomed the old man's death, seeing it as the opening he needed. Now with his new admiral in his clutches he finally was able to realize his vision of gaining more power than he had ever dreamed. Tarkin had been too ambitious and it had cost him.

Nevis would not make his mistake, and would use his new juggernaughts as Nullin intended at first. Placing them at strategically important worlds to the Empire they would let the rebels come to them.

Like waves crashing against a cliff face they would eventually withdraw weakened and demoralized. The Emperor would be well pleased as he ordered the rebels destruction at his leisure, and would reward the Moff for his dedicated service. All his plans would soon come to fruition. When it was all over he would keep Nullin close, as his little secret. Who knows what other little ideas Terra might come up with?

Nullin stood at the view port in his office looking out at the Virulant. Bristling with weapons it was truly a sight to behold in the space dock. Even now Nullin's own private project was being made to solve manpower shortages. The trouble was troops and personnel.

To create the Juggernaught quickly enough Nullin had used his design of an unmanned shipyard that was fast and efficient. Using this knowledge he had been experimenting with another form of an unmanned factory: a robotics plant. In it he was creating sentient battle droids. Dressed in stormtrooper armor they would possess superior reflexes and strength.

The added benefit that they could be massed produced, and could be programmed to perform any function helped to improve their usefulness. Nullin had them grouped into each job function needed on the ship. He was pleasantly surprised to note that certain individual droids showed leadership qualities. When performing battle drills and exercises the ones in question took command.

Nullin was actually quite proud of that, though he hid the troopers' real identities. Falsifying reports he made it look like troop transfers. The reason for this was simple: Nullin didn't trust the Moff. He had no illusions as to why he had suddenly found himself in the Moff's good graces. While he didn't know the Moff's reasons for wanting the juggernaughts he doubted Nevis was just going to hand it over without wanting to gain something from it.