The initial recruitment for the Imperial Volunteer Corps had exceeded the initial projection that the Ministry of War had. Within the first week, processing centers across the Imperium had registered over 12 million applicants. By the end of the second week, that number had climbed past 23 million.
The reasons varied. Some were veterans of the Coruscant campaign who had grown restless in peacetime. Others were younger Gen'Dai who had come of age in the centuries following the last great war and had heard the stories of their elders without ever having the opportunity to add their own.
A significant portion were citizens from species who had been liberated from the Hutts and who carried a particular hatred of slavery in any form, including the kind the Sith were known to practice on conquered worlds.
The processing centers were overwhelmed within days. The Ministry of War expanded the operation, opening additional facilities on secondary worlds and authorizing accelerated screening protocols for veterans whose service records were already on file.
On Veldari, the central processing facility had become a small city in its own right. Vey'la Sutr walked through one of the registration halls, observing the operation. Her new rank as Emperor's Warden gave her a degree of authority that she was still becoming accustomed to, and the deference shown by the personnel around her was something she would need time to grow used to.
She had compiled the list Daimon requested. Four thousand and seventy-two Balance Keepers had volunteered for indefinite leave to serve as advisors and combatants alongside the Republic forces. It was a smaller number than the volunteer corps, but each Balance Keeper represented a force multiplier that would prove decisive in engagements where the Sith committed their own Force users.
She stopped at one of the registration tables, where a young Zabrak woman was filling out her enlistment paperwork. The Zabrak looked up, recognized the sigil at Vey'la's collar, and immediately stood and bowed.
"Master Warden. I did not realize you would be visiting today."
"At ease," Vey'la said. "Continue with your registration. I am only observing."
The Zabrak hesitated, then sat back down and resumed her paperwork, though her hands were noticeably less steady than they had been a moment before. Vey'la moved on without commenting on it. She had learned, in her years of service, that the best way to allow people to perform their duties was to remove herself from the immediate vicinity of their attention.
She continued through the hall, noting the efficiency of the operation. Each table had a screening officer, a medical examiner, and an equipment quartermaster working in tandem. Volunteers were processed through registration, evaluated for combat readiness, and then issued temporary orders directing them to specific staging areas based on their skillset and prior experience.
At the far end of the hall, she found the senior coordinator, a Gen'Dai named Brennar who had served as a logistics officer during the Coruscant campaign. He saw her approaching and inclined his head in greeting.
"Master Warden. The numbers continue to climb. We are projecting another four million applicants by the end of the month, assuming the current pace holds."
"It will hold," Vey'la said. "The Sith have made themselves the enemy of every species in the Imperium that values its freedom. The volunteers will not stop coming until the war is over."
Brennar nodded. "We have begun staging the first wave for transport. Approximately 800,000 combat-ready volunteers will be moving through Republic-controlled hyperspace lanes within the next ten days. The Republic has provided coordinates for designated reception points on Corellia, Chandrila, and Bothawui."
"And the equipment?"
"Imperial-pattern blaster rifles, body armor, field kits, and support gear are being issued through the standard requisition channels. The volunteers retain ownership of their equipment for the duration of their service. Heavy weapons and vehicle assets will be transported separately and assigned at the reception points."
"Good." Vey'la glanced at the equipment manifest Brennar handed her. The numbers were small by Imperial standards. The Ministry of War barely had to invest much into the Volunteer Corps because of the number of reserves that they had.
"What is the projected timeline for full deployment?"
"Six weeks for the first wave to be fully integrated into Republic command structures. Another twelve weeks for the second and third waves. By the six-month mark, we expect to have approximately fifteen million volunteers operating in active combat roles, with another five million in support and logistics positions."
"And the Balance Keepers?"
"They are being processed through a separate channel, as you requested. Their assignments are being coordinated directly with the Jedi Order's liaison officers. The first joint operations are expected to begin within the next three weeks."
Vey'la nodded and handed the manifest back. "Keep me posted on any complications. I will be moving between staging areas for the next several days."
"Understood, Master Warden."
She left the hall and made her way toward the transport pad outside. As soon as she stepped outside, the warmth of the Veldari sun hit her. It was always like this as Daimon made sure that Veldari was always well maintained with technology and enviromental polices. But the biggest thing was probably the fact that Veldari was a Force Nexus. It had become one, a few decades after the birth of the Imperium.
Vey'la paused for a moment, watching the steady flow of volunteers entering and exiting the building.
Most of them were young, and many of them would not return home. But that was what was expected of them as citizens of the Imperium. Death may not happen to the majority because of their long lifespans, but it was still something that they understood.
She closed her eyes briefly, centering herself in the Force. The future was clouded, as Daimon had noted. But some things were certain. The Sith had committed themselves to a war they could not win on their own terms, and the Imperium had positioned itself to ensure that whatever emerged from the conflict would be shaped according to its own preferences rather than theirs.
That was, she thought, a particular kind of victory. The kind that did not require firing a single shot from an Imperial vessel.
She boarded her transport and gave the pilot her next destination.
————
On Korriban, the Sith Emperor sat alone in his private chamber, deep beneath the surface of the planet. The walls around him were carved from the same red stone that had defined Sith architecture for millennia, and the air carried the faint, acrid scent of burned incense from a brazier that had not been extinguished in over four hundred years.
He was not pleased.
The reports from the front lines had been favorable in the first week. Then they had become merely adequate in the second. By the third week, they had begun to deteriorate in ways that suggested external interference, even before the Imperium had made its announcement public.
Now, with the Imperial Volunteer Corps officially mobilizing and Imperial-grade weaponry being shipped to Republic depots at industrial scale, the strategic calculus had shifted dramatically. The Sith had planned for a war against a weakened Republic operating under the Treaty of Coruscant's restrictions. They had not planned for a war against a Republic equipped, advised, and reinforced by the Imperium in everything but formal declaration.
He had expected this. So, he was about to reveal a few of the secret projects that the Sith were working on.
The first of these projects was a fleet of warships that had been built secretly over the past three centuries within hidden shipyards in the deepest regions of Sith space. These vessels, designated the Marauder-class, were heavier than anything the Sith had previously fielded, equipped with ion cannons capable of disabling Republic capital ships in single volleys and shielding systems that had been reverse-engineered from intelligence gathered on Imperial designs decades ago.
The second project was more troubling, at least from a moral standpoint. Genetically engineered soldiers, grown in vats and conditioned from infancy through accelerated maturation processes that the Sith had been refining for centuries, were ready for deployment. Tens of millions of them. Bred for obedience, resistance to fear, and the kind of physical capability that natural-born soldiers required decades to develop.
The third project was a series of super weapons designed to break the will of resistant worlds. Planet-cracker artillery platforms, derived from ancient Sith schematics that had been buried since the time of the original Sith Emperor and meticulously reconstructed since then.
They were designed to render a planet's surface uninhabitable within a matter of days. The Sith Emperor intended to use them sparingly, as instruments of terror rather than conquest. A single demonstration would, he believed, be enough to force smaller Republic worlds to surrender without resistance.
He activated the holocomm at the side of his throne. The Dark Council materialized one by one, their hooded figures bowing as they appeared.
"My lords," he began. "We will now move to deploy our super weapons. We will cause as much damage to the Republic as possible. Through this damage, we can get some worlds to surrender to us instead of fight, which will allow us to reach the core much faster."
Darth Rager was the first to speak. "We should strike at Republic staging areas, forcing them to commit forces before they are able to completely form. But since we are not, we are not formally at war with the Imperium, we should avoid targets where Imperial volunteers are heavily concentrated. If we kill too many of them too quickly, Emperor Daimon may decide neutrality no longer suits him."
A low murmur of agreement spread through several members of the Council.
Darth Acha leaned back slightly in her seat, "Avoidance will only delay the inevitable. The Imperium is already participating in the war through proxies. Millions of their citizens entering Republic service change nothing. Daimon is testing us. He wants to see how far he can interfere before we react."
"And reacting recklessly is exactly what he wants," Darth Rathen countered. "The Imperium's industrial base exceeds ours several times over. Their fleets are modernized beyond anything we can currently field openly. We cannot afford direct conflict with them while prosecuting this war against the Republic."
The Sith Emperor listened in silence while the Council argued.
Holographic projections shifted above the chamber, displaying future fleet movements across the Mid Rim. Republic reinforcements would arrive to stabilize several fronts that had initially appeared vulnerable. Then there were the Imperial volunteers.
Darth Tirant showed a small smile. "The irony is almost amusing. The Republic spent a thousand years fearing Imperial domination, and now they are accepting Imperial military assistance eagerly enough."
"They are desperate," Darth Einaeh said. "Desperate governments make predictable mistakes."
"Not with the Emperor advising them," Darth Nox said. "That is the problem." The Council naturally assumed that Daimon was helping the Republic because of his past interventions in Sith related events.
At the mention of Daimon's name, the atmosphere in the chamber shifted subtly. Even among the Dark Council, there was unease whenever the Emperor of the Imperium's name entered discussion.
The Emperor raised one hand, silencing them instantly.
"We will proceed carefully. The super weapons will target Republic worlds exclusively. Population centers with strategic significance but minimal Imperial presence. I want fear spread faster than their mobilization efforts."
A new hologram appeared above the chamber.
A massive black structure floated into view, larger than a dreadnought, covered in jagged crimson plating and lined with colossal emitter arrays running along its spine.
Several Council members looked visibly pleased.
"The Ravager Platforms," the Emperor said. "The first three are now operational. Their deployment begins immediately."
Darth Nox studied the image. "And the Imperium?"
The Emperor's expression darkened slightly.
"We continue to avoid direct confrontation. For now." He rose slowly from his throne. "But if Daimon crosses the line from indirect support to military intervention…"
The temperature in the chamber seemed to drop.
"…then we will have to face him."