1154 hrs. 23 March 2236  Imperial Palace Complex, Trantor

The military section of the Imperial Command Center (ICC)- no stranger to flurries of activity during the last six months- was abuzz with activity on a level not seen since the end of the last war. Though the Yuuzhan Vong had made peace with the Empire- for the second time- in September of 2235, they were still fighting all of the other major and minor races in the Empire's quadrant of the galaxy. The ICC continually monitored activities within sensor range; the entire Empire felt a sense of satisfaction learning of the rapid diminshment of the Vong fleet at the hands of the Federation and the Vulcans since last September. Also interesting to watch was the Vong increase the tempo and ferocity of their attacks against the Chiss. It was almost as if though the Vong had to flee the Federation advance, they were venting frustration against the far weaker Chiss, taking particular care to dismantle the extensive starbase network the Chiss had constructed.

But today was different. On a planet filled with hardenned, secured and massively protected shelters and compounds, the ICC ranked near the top of the list, located a mile beneath a mountain within the boundaries of the Emperor's palace complex. It was an expansive, sprawling affair, housing communications, command and control facitlties not just for the military but for every Imperial ministry, directorate and department. It was a small subterranian city, with living and food accomodations, and other amenities. Designed to be the command post of last resort, more often than not if a decision had to be made on or from Trantor, a major part of the decision-making process took place at ICC. It was often joked at in many of the Trantor's underground complexes that the world of politics and everyday life took place on the surface, but that the Empire was run from underground. One distinction though was that the Emperor himself was never anticipated or expected to personally come to the ICC unless perhaps if Trantor itself were under ground assault. But today rumors were flying among the Detail-as the ICC security troops were referred to- that Darkers had been seen in groups together in the complex. A Darker was a member of the most elite, secretive unit of the Imperial Ministry of Intelligence. It was claimed that the Darkers were composed only of survivors of black ops insertion unit missions, run on alien-held worlds. Popular legend held that to see one meant certain death. It was also popularly known that the Emperor's personal guard was composed exclusively of Darkers.

If there was a single person in charge of the ICC it was Prett Oglu. A Sub-Director of the Imperial Security Directorate, member of the Trantorian Defense Council and an officer of the Imperial Guard amongst other postings, Oglu was the Administrator-Commandant of the Imperial Command Center. As might be expected of someone with such far-ranging responsibilities, AC Oglu was an extremely busy person, much preferred to operate on a routine, and was extremely not fond of surprises. His routine for the day was put on the back-burners when his PCI (Personal Communication Implant) activated with a particular recog code.