The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2365: Demoting oneself to military rank

"From the perspective of military strength, we do not have the strength to swallow up the Galactic Empire fleet in this battle. We lack battleships and it is difficult for us to inflict a fatal blow to their Imperial-class Star Destroyers. On the other hand, the desperate counterattack of the Imperial-class Star Destroyers will also cause us great losses." Luminara Anduri said very steadily.

"...You...No! This is a rare opportunity! If we can inflict more damage to the Imperial fleet in the previous battle, it will be much easier for us to attack the planet Bilbrin next time!" Admiral Mal-Tuk wanted to get angry, but facing the indifferent look of Luminara Anduri, he did not curse out loud.

"It's very difficult to attack the planet Bilbrin, but it's not impossible." Luminara Anduri said, "Although many of the Imperial Fleet's ships have escaped, many of them have been damaged, and it's difficult to recover their combat effectiveness in a short period of time. However, I think we need more battleships."

"Humph! More reinforcements have already set out from the planet Dawn and are heading to the planet Mygeeto through the stargate. His Majesty Tang Xiao is also fully supporting our actions! After we meet up with the reinforcements, we can immediately attack the planet Bilbrin!" Mal-Tuk said, "Jedi Knights, this time you will also help us, right?"

Luminara-Anduri sighed and said, "My original intention was only to help you defend the Mararian Alliance, but the opportunity to threaten the core circle is rare...Yes, we will help."

Maltuk nodded and his tone became polite, "Then thank you, Master Anduri."

In this battle, he once again realized the power of the fighter formation led by the Force-sensitive. In the second half of the battle, a group of aircraft led by eight Imperial Inquisitors wanted to raid his flagship, but the more than 8 outer guard-class anti-aircraft destroyers were unable to stop them, and they almost threatened his flagship!

Such a surprise attack left Mal-Tuk with lingering fears, and he quickly sent a message to the Dawn planet, requesting more Force warriors to come to reinforce.

But before that, he also understood that speed is of the essence in war. At this stage, the power of these three Jedi Knights is still very necessary.

"In short, I will immediately lead the warships in good condition to launch a tentative attack on the planet Bilbrin!" Mal-Tuk said firmly.

Luminara-Anduri nodded but said nothing.

On September 11, 9BBY, the Commercial Combined Fleet officially passed through the planet Dolin and began to invade the planet Bilbrin!
Although Admiral Mal-Touk has not yet achieved his goal of becoming the second general to set foot in the Inner Rim of the Milky Way after General Severance Tann, after invading the planet Bilbrin, he has become one of the few generals who directly attacked the Inner Rim of the Milky Way.

……

Just a few days before the Battle of Mararian, something unexpected happened in the Chiss Territory in the unknown star region.

On September 9, Admiral Iliz al-Alani-Ziala returned to the Chiss Territory's capital, Hisra, in a disheveled state, to report to the governor of the sector, Sheen Morabito.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Governor. I failed." Admiral Ziara said frustratedly, "I was defeated by Thrawn..."

"Thrawn? You mean... the one who defeated you was Thrawn?" Xien Morabito's usually cynical face became rare in its seriousness at this moment.

"It sounds like you know him?" This time it was Admiral Chiara's turn to be surprised. Xien Morabito nodded and said, "It's not so much that I know him, but rather that His Majesty Tang Xiao knows him. When I first took office, he told me very seriously to be careful of a man named Thrawn. He has the ability to defeat every general under our command, including... Severance Tann."

Admiral Chiara sighed and said, "He was once my student, but was exiled because of his unique style of doing things and was not accepted by his family. I never thought that he would serve in the Galactic Empire Navy."

Shin Morabito waved his hand and said, "This matter is also my fault. I didn't think that Thrawn would come to Chiss Territory through the messy hyperspace channels, so I didn't give you enough warning. However, I am more curious about how he defeated you who had an absolute advantage in military strength?"

"Simulated signal... He set up a simulated signal in the asteroid belt. I thought his fleet was hiding there, so I led the fleet directly over there. But... several asteroids suddenly exploded, causing a violent EMP pulse wave. When my fleet's communication and command were paralyzed, he suddenly rushed out from the blind spot of our radar detection, cut us off, and then sank my flagship." Chiara said, "When I hurried from the lifeboat to another Cole-class battlecruiser to set up a command center, my fleet formation was completely scattered..."

"Radar blind spot? Is there such a thing?" Sean Morabito was a little confused. "Can't the sensors of our warships directly scan the entire galaxy?"

"Rather than saying it's the radar's blind spot... it's more like my blind spot. The wide-area detection accuracy of the entire galaxy is not high, and we can only get a rough idea. In addition, the planet Kam-Ko was originally under our jurisdiction, so after I entered, I directly aimed the high-precision radar at the asteroid belt." Admiral Chiara said, "This failure is entirely my fault! Therefore, I hope to be demoted!"

"Hmm..." Sheen Morabito tapped the table with his fingers and changed the subject, "How did you know it was Thrawn?"

"From this encounter, I finally figured out from his command style... it was him! Sadly, in the previous battles, I couldn't even tell that he was in command... which means he might not have tried his best at all." Qiara smiled bitterly, "Governor, I am no longer suitable to be the commander-in-chief of the Chiss Territory's military forces. I request to accept the punishment."

Shinn Morabito said, "Well, you are now stripped of your rank of admiral and demoted to deputy chief of staff, with the rank of major general. However, I will retain your administrative appointment, and you will still be the chief representative of Chis Territory."

"I..." Major General Qiara hesitated. She wanted to resign from her administrative position as well, but she held back and nodded dejectedly, "I accept."

"Then let's discuss how to solve Thrawn's problem..." said Sean Morabito.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Admiral Qiara raised his head abruptly, "Your Excellency Governor, I am no longer the commander-in-chief..."

"That's enough!" Sean Morabito interrupted her directly. "You are not the commander-in-chief, but you are still the deputy chief of staff. Is it okay for me to ask a deputy chief of staff for his opinion on operations?"

"No problem, Your Excellency the Governor." Major General Chiara immediately got into the state and saluted.

"I will introduce you to someone, or rather, you already know her." Sean Morabito smiled, stood up and walked out the door, "Come on."

Major General Chiara hurriedly followed him.

A luxurious hovercraft, escorted by more than a dozen armed airspeeders, drove towards a magnificent temple. (End of this chapter)