The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2805. A Devastating Collapse (Part 1)
Gideon Tarkin stared blankly at the debris scattered not far from him, his mind unable to process what was happening.

But then he realized what this terrifying situation meant! The invisible detector opposite him had gotten so close that he could see it clearly with his naked eye!
What does this mean? It means that the other side was practically peering into the ship from right up to its bridge! And throughout this entire process, neither the 150 capital ships nor the high-powered detectors on the planet at the Chalos IV military base detected this thing!

Moreover, if it were just a routine probe of the movements of one's own fleet's main force, there would be no need to risk being destroyed by infiltrating so closely. There is only one possibility—eavesdropping on conversations inside one's own flagship!
The enemy may have already grasped all his tactical intentions, and may even have infiltrated every detail of the Imperial Twelfth Army's command chain!
A wave of panic instantly filled Gideon Tarkin's mind. Cold sweat soaked his uniform, and his fingers dug into the metal frame of the observation window as he tried to suppress the intense unease in his heart.

He took a deep breath to suppress his inner unease.

Gideon Tarkin whirled around and shouted, "Who is the commander of this mysterious fleet?!"

The adjutant shook his head blankly and said, "I don't know... I have absolutely no clue."

“How could we not even know this level of intelligence?” Gideon Tarkin grew increasingly agitated. He shouted, “Give those rebels money! That Borsk-Felia of theirs! Give him money, and he’ll definitely give us the intelligence! He’d love for us to fight the separatists to the death!”

The adjutant continued to shake his head, saying, "We really don't know. We've contacted Borsk-Felia, and they've indeed been trying to find out for us, but we haven't been able to find any information at all."

Gideon Tarkin frowned. "This is impossible! If this person were to appear in the East, there would surely be some trace of him. How can there be no information at all?"

“This mysterious fleet appeared out of nowhere. Neither our intelligence personnel nor the rebels detected it on any planet in the Eastern Territory. Furthermore, there is no record of the fleet's commander being involved in any separatist activities in the Eastern Territory... nothing at all, a complete blank,” the adjutant said.

“The deployment of a fleet, even ten capital ships, means a huge amount of supplies! There wasn’t even any logistics?” Gideon Tarkin found it unbelievable. “Moreover, the authorization of the fleet, the formulation of the battle plan, and the transportation of logistical supplies are all part of a complex military command system. How could he not have left any records?”

The adjutant shook his head again. "No, it's a complete blank. That commander didn't participate in any of the separatist decisions in the East. He just appeared out of nowhere, like a shadow. And during the time he was there, the separatist political and military operations in the East went on as usual, without any difference. Even the commander of their main fleet was still Lin Nanyi."

“This person… deliberately erased himself from the Eastern Territory, like an invisible man.” Gideon Tarkin’s expression turned grave. “There’s no such person in the entire military and administrative apparatus of the Eastern Territory… How is that possible?”

He now felt that the fleet commander was becoming increasingly mysterious, and that, in contrast to his complete ignorance of him, the destroyed stealth detector indicated that the enemy was fully aware of his actions.

"General...?" The adjutant also realized the terror behind this, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "Or should we... withdraw the troops?"

Gideon Tarkin gave a wry smile and said, "Things have come to this point, there's no other way. If we withdraw now, even disregarding the political factors, turning around and running away without firing a single shot will completely shatter our morale. We'll never be able to fight in the East again, nobody will listen to us."

……

At the same time, the main fleet of the Galactic Empire's Twelfth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Torgusius, was arriving at the planet Salukami in batches.

This place was once the last stronghold of the Independent Galaxy Confederation. After holding out for seven years, the planet Sarukami finally fell, which led to the complete collapse of the Independent Galaxy Confederation.

Now, although ten years have passed since that earth-shattering battle, this place remains a terrifying battlefield remnant.

The wreckage of warships, space stations, and even a large number of asteroids are everywhere, forming a debris belt around the planet Salukami.

These debris fragments, varying in size, lay menacingly across space, their surfaces covered in burn marks and impacts, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen under the starlight. They hovered in various bizarre postures, slowly rotating or colliding with each other, forming an extremely complex and dangerous space.

Any ship navigating here must proceed with extreme caution, constantly on guard against sudden collisions. Sensors are also frequently interfered with by the complex metallic signals within this wreckage zone, making it extremely difficult to detect any unusual activity in the distance.

A flash of white light appeared, and a massive fleet of 200 capital ships and 1500 medium and small warships arrived at the outskirts of the planet Salukami. This was the main fleet of the Second Army led by Torgusius; two more batches were arriving in stages from two other hyperspace routes.

Vice Admiral Torgusius stood on the bridge of his flagship, the "HMS Fortitude," looking out at the desolate and chaotic scene, his brow furrowed slightly.

Seeing the Dawn Kingdom fleet already encircled within the wreckage, he knew this was the battlefield the enemy had chosen. Generally, if a complex battlefield like this were chosen, there was only one possibility—the enemy had already laid an ambush, waiting for their prey to venture deeper.

Torgus tapped his fingertips slowly on the edge of the command platform and said in a deep voice, "Once the other two formations arrive, we will launch an attack immediately. Distribute the battle plan to each ship."

That was a battle plan that he and his staff team had worked tirelessly for more than a day to come. He made the plan as detailed and professional as possible, hoping to impress the officers and soldiers of his ships and ensure the smooth progress of the operation.

Torgusius's biggest worry was that the captains of those Star Destroyers wouldn't obey orders. Unfortunately, he was only a Vice Admiral, and while the difference between a Vice Admiral and an Admiral might seem small, there was actually a significant and insurmountable gap between them.

At this moment, some of the more senior or more prominent Star Destroyer captains in this fleet are actually lieutenant generals!
In fact, this poses a huge hidden danger to this operation.

The Imperial Twelfth Army was not without admirals in command, but because the conflict between Governor Serben and the Tarkin family had become almost public, these admirals chose to remain neutral to avoid being forced to take sides.

Furthermore, Governor Serben was over seventy years old. On the one hand, this meant that he was too old to be of great use, but on the other hand, it showed that his power in the Twelfth Army was deeply entrenched.

In fact, Serben was already the governor of the Republic's sector before the Twelfth Army was established. However, at that time, the sector divisions were administrative and did not have military significance. The sector administration and the sector defense fleet were independent of each other. This led to many officers and generals of the Twelfth Army working together since the Galactic Republic era and having deep friendships.

Therefore, Gideon Tarkin could not possibly choose generals who supported Governor Serben to lead the fleet. The only reason he chose Vice Admiral Torgus was that he was a member of the Tarkin family.

The Tarkin family's lack of established power was also evident in this aspect; they had to appoint a relatively inexperienced but absolutely loyal lieutenant general to command this large fleet composed of old-school officers. Other well-established and powerful families, with their extensive networks, often garnered more and higher-ranking support from officials and generals.

Therefore, most of the operational plans that Vice Admiral Torgusius sent to the ships were coldly thrown into the trash by the captains.

His plan was indeed very professional and detailed. It carefully planned the advance routes of each fleet, the timing of the attack, and the division of the battlefield areas, and assigned roles to the main attack fleet, the escort fleet, the high-speed advance fleet, the air defense formation, and the long-range strike formation.

But to those captains who already looked down on him, this was tantamount to a slap in the face—"Are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

Under such circumstances, it's no wonder he couldn't get any support. Torgus stared at the constantly flashing "rejected" message on the terminal, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Over the next half day, two more fleets arrived one after another, deploying from three directions to surround the planet Salukami.

The Imperial fleet still deployed its attack formation, and it was arranged in a very orderly manner—but this was not under the command of Vice Admiral Torgusius, but rather a real-time deployment made by the professional captains themselves based on their ships' positions.

Before the battle even began, Lieutenant General Torgusius had already lost his ability to command.

However, the other half of the Dawn Planet fleet is on its way from Jabim and is still en route, so the Galactic Empire fleet currently has a huge numerical advantage in this area.

The ratio of capital ships alone is 600 to 150, and there is also a huge advantage in the number of small and medium-sized warships.

Torgus ordered all ships to immediately prepare for battle, and to launch a full-scale attack one hour later, penetrating the debris field around the planet and annihilating the separatist fleet!

At the same time, he also sent his battle plan to General Gideon Tarkin, who was stationed in the rear.

However, fearing reprimand from Gideon Tarkin for his inability to command the Star Destroyer captains, he didn't elaborate. He simply sent over a battle plan, without specifying its feasibility or difficulties. He only added, "Please review it, Your Excellency."

……

While Torgusius led his main fleet in a three-pronged attack on the planet Salukami, Admiral Gideon Tarkin was carefully reviewing Torgusius's battle plan in front of a holographic star map on the planet Chalos IV in the rear.

It must be said that Torgusius's battle plan was brilliant and impeccable in every aspect, but its only flaw was that it was too brilliant and too perfect.

War can never be perfect.

Just as Admiral Gideon Tarkin was considering whether to let Torgusius stop short of driving away the separatist fleet and then return to base as soon as possible, the intelligence officer rushed over in a fit of rage, shouting, "General! We've lost track of the mysterious separatist aircraft carrier from both Baramak and Torglia! It's suspected to have entered a hyperspace passage!"

"All troops, immediately prepare for battle! The enemy is likely heading to Chalos IV to harass our forces!" Gideon Tarkin decisively issued the order. "Hyperspace outposts, increase detection efforts! Find their flight path within ten minutes!"

However, less than ten minutes later, with a flash of white light, ten exquisitely designed and magnificent Protoss aircraft carriers with white backgrounds and gold trim arrived at Chalos IV!

The journey from Torgria and Baramak to Chalos IV was certainly more than ten minutes, but the Protoss's advanced technology and their constant clearing of the Galactic Empire's hyperspace probes prevented the Empire from knowing their movements immediately.

When the Protoss carrier arrived at Chalos IV, more than 150 capital ships under Gideon Tarkin's command were emerging from their spaceport berths and arranging themselves into defensive formations.

On the bridge of the Protoss Purifier carrier USS The Invisible Hand, General Grievous stood amidst a holographic projection of the starry sky, the entire bridge appearing as one.

On the lower level of the bridge, fifty Protoss Purifiers were operating the various systems of the aircraft carrier. They were linked together and shared their computing units, forming a Purifier network, which greatly enhanced their computing power. Just fifty individuals were enough to control every component of the aircraft carrier.

Of course, compared to the Protoss High Templar who can operate an aircraft carrier with just one person and a few "engineers", the Purifier's technology is relatively less advanced - but it is stable, efficient and does not rely on individual psionic strength.

General Grievous's bloodshot, beastly vertical pupils fixed on Gideon Tarkin's fleet, and roared, "All troops, charge! Kill them!"

With this furious command, the ten Purifier aircraft carriers launched their charge! During the charge, these carriers released interceptor drones, and the 100 Purifier reconnaissance aircraft that were normally mounted on the carriers' outer armor were also detached and sped off at full power, heading straight for Gideon Tarkin's fleet!
That's right, General Grievous directly commanded the aircraft carrier to charge ahead!
"All troops, immediately take up defensive positions! Hold them off!" Gideon Tarkin immediately gave the order.

General Grievous, however, stared intently at Gideon Tarkin's flagship, letting out a sinister laugh. (End of Chapter)