The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2817. Eastern Border Strategy

Inside the courtroom on the planet Losar, holographic projections repeatedly played various angles of Otto Stratus.

Otto Stratus coldly stared at the Given judge who had been carried on the platform. Even though his face was bruised and swollen, a mocking smile still played on his lips. "Is this all the Kingdom of Dawn has to offer?"

However, the expected reprimands and interrogations did not come. Otto Stratus had even prepared a passionate half-hour speech, but the room remained deathly silent.

Suddenly, a crackling sound of electricity rang out, and an image was suddenly projected onto the holographic projection screen next to them.

All that could be seen was 'Otto Stratus' being held in the same courtroom as before. Faced with the Supreme Judge's righteous and stern accusations, 'Otto Stratus' actually knelt down and wept bitterly, admitting all his crimes and begging for forgiveness with tears streaming down his face. He even voluntarily revealed all the contact points and hiding places of the underground resistance organizations on the planet Jabim.

These places were actually either already under the control of the Dawn Kingdom or had been destroyed altogether, but when they came out of 'Otto-Strauss's' mouth, they took on a completely different meaning. No one would bother to investigate whether these strongholds were real or whether they had actually been destroyed; the fact that they came from 'Otto-Strauss's' mouth was enough.

“You bastard! That’s not me! It’s not me!!!” Otto Stratus roared.

But nobody paid him any attention. There were only two people in the courtroom—Judge Given and himself. No audience, no jury, no reporters, nothing.

The Given judge remained motionless and silent. Meanwhile, in the holographic projection, 'Otto-Stratos' continued to lament his crimes, urging the people of Jabim to lay down their weapons, surrender, and join the Kingdom of Dawn. Joining the Kingdom of Dawn promised a better life and guaranteed safety.

"No! Don't believe him! Don't believe him! He's fake! He's fake!!!" Otto Stratus pounded the table frantically.

But no one paid him any attention. Suddenly, the head of the Given judge fell off and rolled on the ground—a dummy.

This courtroom has absolutely nothing.

Otto Stratus felt his entire worldview collapse. He remained silent for a long time as if petrified, then suddenly erupted, roaring like a madman, frantically dragging the chains, even biting them until his mouth was full of blood.

But it was no use; the 'Otto Stratus' on the projection was still repenting.

Finally exhausted, Otto Stratus slumped to the ground, a metallic taste rising in his throat. He stared at his kneeling reflection in the projection, then suddenly chuckled softly, "Hehehehe...hehehehehe..."

Just then, footsteps sounded, and Otto Stratus jerked his head up to see a tactical robot walk in. Yes, it was the same T-series tactical robot frequently used by the Independent System Confederation. The Dawn Kingdom had also used it for a time, but it was later largely replaced by a more powerful AI command system.

However, this tactical robot seemed somewhat different in appearance, being taller and featuring many attractive decorations and patterns on its body. It walked with its hands behind its back; this robot somehow exuded an air of official authority?
General Karani.

“Cummings was an outstanding soldier and a true war hero,” General Kalani said. “He could destroy a heavy fortress by himself and lead his soldiers in a charge. His courage inspired the entire Semir army. However, he ultimately did not understand human nature.”

“Don’t talk like you’re some big piece of iron and you think you know everything!” Otto Stratus said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, I suppose I do understand a thing or two about…human nature,” General Karani said calmly. “If you had fallen into my hands from the beginning, I wouldn’t have given you any chance to face the public. You would have disappeared. Yes, you would have disappeared. All your relatives and friends would have been executed or brainwashed. All your records would have been erased, even your pets. Every trace of your existence in this world would have vanished. And that’s the best way to execute a politician.”

He pointed to the holographic projection, “But Cummings messed up, and I had to resort to this method to salvage the situation. Actually, let me reassure you, this method may look scary, but it won’t make people forget you. That’s actually fatal… So if I had to choose, I would rather you disappear.”

“You… bastard!!” Otto Stratus shouted angrily.

“I’ve come to say goodbye, Your Majesty.” General Karani didn’t say much, raised his blaster pistol, and shot Otto Stratus in the head.

In the holographic projection, 'Otto Stratus' was still there, loudly praising the beauty of the Kingdom of Dawn. As General Karani left, the sound in the projection abruptly stopped, but the echoes lingered in the empty courtroom.

……

Even with Otto Stratus secretly executed and a fake Otto Stratus touring the world giving speeches and praising him, the flames of rebellion on Jabim were somewhat suppressed.

But as General Karani said, this was only a temporary solution, because the people had not forgotten Otto Stratus. On the contrary, because of the profound impact of his speech during Cummings' trial, many people recognized that this servile king was an imposter.

But that was all they could do. General Karani did everything he could to destroy records and evidence of Otto Stratus's existence, minimizing his memory in the public's mind.

In any case, after Otto Stratus died, the resistance movement on Jabim was leaderless. In the encirclement and suppression that followed, the once-famous Cloud and Rain Commando, which had dealt a heavy blow to the Galactic Republic's clone forces during the Clone Wars, was completely annihilated, its designation was canceled, and it withdrew from the stage of history.

Moreover, Otto-Stratos's officials at all levels were captured one after another by the Sky Squad. Following General Karani's methods, these people all vanished without a trace, and not a single document or record could be found on the entire planet to prove that they ever existed.

Human memory is limited; in a few years, these people will completely forget.

Thus, although the people of Jabim still deeply resented the Dawn Kingdom, the flames of rebellion on the planet were extinguished. Whether they would reignite in the future was another matter. Afterwards, General Kalani's partitioning method proved highly effective. He divided the Eastern Territory into 72 partitions and then created temporary vacuum zones by setting up hyperspace blockers. This was a highly secretive operation; once a partition was established, traffic within that region would become extremely congested.

General Kalani would then analyze the frequency of rebel activity in the area to assess their supplies. If the frequency and intensity of activity were not significantly different, it would indicate the presence of a rebel base in the area.

Next, the area will be marked, and Protoss observers will be deployed—the Protoss are quite generous with the number of these stealthy drones.

In this way, General Karani identified as many as seventeen areas containing rebel bases.

This is astonishing, considering that there are only so many conflict zones in the Eastern Territory, yet there are already seventeen bases! And there are definitely more that haven't been found yet!

General Karani did not immediately attack the rebel bases, but continued to monitor them using Protoss Watchers. A hasty attack would only alert them; they needed to seize the opportunity and strike swiftly to inflict maximum damage.

Through observation, General Kalani discovered that these insurgents had developed a very sophisticated combat system. Centered around their high-performance T-65 X-wing heavy fighters, they had developed their own unique fighting style. They typically operated in groups of three to four X-wing fighters, using hyperspace engines mounted on the aircraft to quickly initiate a short-range hyperspace jump after approaching their target, then deliver a lightning-fast strike before rapidly retreating.

Their attacks rely on a robust intelligence system to keep track of the enemy's movements at all times, enabling X-wing fighters lying in ambush in uninhabited star systems to enter the battlefield as soon as possible, launch their attacks, and then leave immediately.

Moreover, their attacks were not in single waves. A group of three or four fighter jets would launch a surprise attack, firing all their missiles and proton torpedoes, and then another wave of fighter jets would come from another direction to launch a second wave of attacks, also attacking and then leaving. Depending on the size of the enemy's escort fleet, there could be anywhere from three to more than a dozen such attack waves.

This often throws the enemy into chaos quickly, at which point the rebel frigates or light cruisers will enter the battlefield to collect the spoils.

In fact, even the Dawn Kingdom's escort fleet has fallen victim to this tactic multiple times. The Dawn Kingdom's escort fleet typically uses Gray Horse-class escort carriers, equipped with stealth fighters from Homeworld. However, the X-wing fighter's onboard radar can penetrate the stealth system of Homeworld's stealth fighters, and given the at least three-generation generation difference between the two sides, an attack often results in a crushing defeat.

The Homeworld stealth fighter, which usually relies on its stealth system to bully pirates and smugglers, is no match for the X-wing fighter, which embodies all of Incom's technological prowess.

Even the Ghost fighter is no match for the X-wing fighter. Currently, only the Sabre fighter can be definitively defeated by the X-wing. The Claymore fighter is slightly inferior.

This was the operational strategy proposed by General Jan Dodner, maximizing the advantages of fighters equipped with hyperspace engines. He also instructed the X-wing fighters to avoid dogfights as much as possible, given the increasing use of 3D bombs in the Dawn Kingdom fleet—these were the only drawbacks of this type of fighter.

After suffering heavy losses when they first encountered the 3D bombs, X-wing fighters would often maintain a long combat distance when facing Dawn Kingdom warships. Experienced pilots would lure the warships into launching 3D bombs, then seize the gaps in the bombs' attacks to launch proton torpedoes, hitting and running away.

Such tactics are completely useless against the main fleet of the Dawn Kingdom, which possesses a highly sophisticated air defense system. But can you actually send your main fleet over there? If you do, the Dawn Kingdom will still lose.

Although Tang Xiao had long ago pointed out the enormous threat posed by X-wing fighters, he only realized how disgusting they were after actually encountering them. They were essentially top-tier fighters capable of hyperspace jumps, possessing immense firepower, extremely long range, and incredibly high acceleration, though slightly less maneuverable, designed for guerrilla warfare.

Neither the Galactic Empire nor the Kingdom of Dawn would send their top-tier fighter jets to fight the rebels, thus creating a local technological advantage.

Furthermore, the guerrilla tactics centered around X-wing fighters had a significant advantage: the insurgents could construct a military base capable of supporting several X-wing fighters with minimal resources. This allowed their bases to spring up like mushrooms after rain, being attacked wave after wave.

The ubiquitous top-tier fighter jets, the ubiquitous intelligence network, and the liberalism accepted by almost everyone in the galaxy—that's what makes the rebels so terrifying.

While monitoring the insurgent bases, General Karani's methods went beyond this.

As an emotionless robot, he did not oppose Acting Governor Lin Nan's introduction of corporate influence; in fact, he went even further. General Karani directly ordered a ban on the use of Galactic Empire credits for payments by the residents of the Eastern Planet.

Much of the Rebel Alliance's funding comes from the inner circle of the Galactic Empire's elite, and therefore, this funding is in the form of Imperial Credits. In the Kingdom of Dawn, although Hari-Seldon's economic reforms have been remarkably effective, the Eastern Sector, with its diverse mix of players, still operates on a system that combines Imperial Credits and Currency IV.

But General Karani simply cut it off.

Such consequences would lead to more local companies going bankrupt and people losing their jobs in the East. But General Karani didn't care about any of that; he only cared about whether the situation in the East would remain stable.

Two months later, after the nine Purifier aircraft carriers had completed their repairs, General Kalani, in conjunction with General Grievous, launched Operation Spring Dawn!
These two robot generals, who had been working together since the Confederation of Independent Systems, are fighting side by side again after a decade.

They immediately launched a full-scale attack on the twenty-three Rebel Alliance military bases they had already captured. Nine Purifier aircraft carriers split into nine groups, patrolling the skies and hunting down Rebel Alliance X-wing fighter squadrons.

Such an offensive left the rebel alliance with no way to resist; a large number of X-wing fighters were shot down, and even their best pilots suffered heavy losses.

All twenty-three military bases were destroyed. Although many of the core members of the rebel army escaped, they were still severely weakened in the eastern region.

General Kalani then began preparations to eliminate the Ghost Squad, along with Class A wanted criminals such as Sabine, Ezra, and Kennan, who were active on the planet Losar! (End of Chapter)