*Thump...thump...thump...*
	The sounds of plasma bombs peppering the ground 
overhead permeated the secure and highly secretive 
base...the resistance base.
	Buried about a mile under the nurturing dirt of the 
Earth, it was one of the few last bastions of the Federation 
left. The Empire had raided and captured all the others; 
they had suspected the existence of this one, but could 
never find exactly where it was due to the odd nature of the 
caverns and rock surrounding it. In this particular 
resistance cell were twelve people, remnants of the crew of 
the _USS Sonnenburg_. They were very few now, but they had 
connections.
	Major connections.
	Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Boyd sat and pondered, 
reading over a padd containing the last burst transmission 
from one of their operatives...
	One of their operatives on the Imperial Star Destroyer 
_Baron_...
	Apparently, Grand Admiral Lowe was now in complete 
isolation...and completely insane. Admiral Zeda had 
apparently taken over the Imperial fleet. Oddly enough, they 
weren't expanding their territory, just biding their time, 
building new ships...
	He reminisced on the losses they had sustained...Risa, 
destroyed; the Romulans, shattered and disjointed; the 
Klingons, taken over; Bajor, taken, along with DS9; Earth, 
conquered; Vulcan, a wasteland of metal; Cardassia, taken 
intact as it capitulated, weary of war. Their fleets were 
depleted, and any ships left usually had some mark of damage 
from the countless battles they sustained.
	Virtually the whole of the alliance that had stood up 
against the Dominion was now broken by the fist of the 
Empire.
	But he wouldn't flinch, wouldn't surrender. He had to 
have courage.
	The time of reckoning was soon to come. And it was 
soon. From all accounts, something major had happened back 
in the Empire's home galaxy...something major, right in the 
middle of the Battle of Earth. It was obvious; the fleet 
became disoriented, several Star Destroyers lost in 
engagements that had previously proven suicidal for the 
Federation. One of the luckiest occurrences in the war, but 
yet the Imperial ranks held and beat back the Federation 
defenders, until at last the remnants of Starfleet had 
either fled or dived for cover on the planet. Still, fleet 
engagements proved to be less of a problem than previously.
	The opportunity had yet to arise, but when it did, the 
Starfleet defenders would retake Earth and drive out the 
Imperial menace...and with the secret fleet rendezvous at 
the now-dead world of Risa, that opportunity was to come 
soon as new ships came in almost daily.
	It still wasn't a sure thing, however.
	But Boyd had faith.