Vici
I looked down from the bridge into hyperspace, smiling under my mask as we penetrated one of the places we least understood. Hyperspace.
Noticing the nervousness of the other Captain that had joined me on my ship, I turned to look at Draneir but unlike Aster he was calm, his visor facing forward. Remembering the past counter-insurgency missions, I felt like asking Draneir for a glass of wine. But I couldn't drink in this armour and it was something that could give me away, as I was known to consume large quantities of wine.
"Are you afraid, Aster?"
The addressed Captain turned around, impatient and sweating.
"Don't lie to me Aster, I'll know if you're lying to me."
Aster moistened his lips and looked at Draneir, as if begging for help, but finding nothing to hold on to he gave in.
"Your plan is too crude and relies on an uncertain factor. At worst we will die or be captured, destroying our efforts and humiliating our cause for centuries to come."
I would like to tell him to simply trust me, for that is what I hoped to achieve in wearing this armour, to cause people to trust in me unconditionally. To facilitate a trust that would make my men follow me without question. But this man needed a demonstration.
"If we win today, you will never doubt me," I said in a commanding voice, not allowing him to give any response other than affirmation.
"If we win, I will never doubt your methods again," agreed the Captain.
"One minute until reemergence from hyperspace!" called the Hyperspace Jump Controller. I nodded and looked ahead.
"Dropping out of hyperspace."
With that my ship, at the spearhead of my formation, dropped out of hyperspace. Allowing me to see the pirates arranged in a large vertical circle, a great mass of over 300 spacecraft of different types forming something that reminded me of Napoleonic infantry formations, prioritising momentary firepower.
"All TIE fighters ready for combat, forward shields on all ships at maximum power. Full speed ahead, let's penetrate their formation!" I ordered in a determined voice.
The battle alarms began to sound on my Destroyer as well as the other ships, reverberating so loud I could feel my bones rattling.
The spearhead formation of over 50 Star Destroyers began to advance.
"Tell the 11 ships at the tip to set their shields to maximum power, leave only the minimum other systems necessary active."
Quickly the Silence went into emergency lights and my ship, at the tip of the spearhead advanced as fast as it could. Soon torpedoes and turbolaser fire began to hit the vanguard, which was drawing all the firepower of their formation on itself.
"Shields at 50%!" called out one of the bridge officers. I glanced quickly at the enemy, whose ships were still in their strange formation, though it might have been of some use against an unimaginative officer.
"Deploy all the TIE fighters" I ordered, as hordes of TIE fighters came out of the hangars, massing on the flanks of the spearhead formation.
"Collision in 3 minutes!" shouted another deck officer as we were approaching the centre of the formation, tinges of panic barely audible in his voice.
"Continue with the collision course, have the destroyers that are not focused on defence start firing and have the fighters engage the torpedo boats," I ordered.
The torpedo boats were the most mobile ships the pirates had. If we penetrated their formation, they were the only ones that could manoeuvre fast enough to turn on us and destroy us from all sides.
"Collision imminent!" called out the deck officer. The sound of the Silence crashing into a Hutt frigate, splitting it in half and penetrating the circle formation, could be heard loudly everywhere in the ship.
"Send the coordinates to the rest of the fleet, we have won!" I said, allowing a satisfied smile to creep into my voice.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captain Pellaeon watched from his cloaked stealth ship as the battle played out before his eyes. Openmouthed he witnessed the Imperial spearhead destroy the centre of the tight formation of the criminal empires. The torpedo boats that tried to attack the fleet's flanks were destroyed by swarms of TIE fighters.
Ships of different types belonging to the criminals tried to manoeuvre in order to aim their weapons at the Imperials, but many of them crashed into each other, destroying themselves. At that point 4 groups of 10 Star Destroyers each came out of hyperspace. Each group circled around taking a cardinal point of the enemy formation and began firing on their remaining fleet.
However, the surprise did not cease, as the criminal fleet, instead of organising themselves, began firing at each other, trying to clear the way in a desperate attempt to flee into hyperspace. A few succeeded but many others perished either at the hands of criminals of different affiliations or by Imperial fire.
One hour of a one-sided battle later there were no more ships left from the criminal empires. All had either been destroyed or fled, leaving Tatooine unprotected and Pallaeon staring down at the Imperial fleet.
'Many Destroyers have been damaged, some badly, but none have been lost. How is this possible?'
Such a brute tactic, but so effective. He had seen few Admirals capable of such a thing.
"Thrawn would not appreciate the brutality, but he would appreciate the results," Pallaeon mused, before turning and looking at a map of the galaxy.
"Let's get back to our base, I have to ponder what to do in the near future."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With a Machiavellian smile and adrenaline coursing through my blood I enjoyed the sweet taste of victory, incomparable to the best coffee or wine I have tasted in my three lives.
"Captain Draneir, escort me to my quarters, and Captain Aster, I trust in your abilities to organise the fleet for repair and advise General Ran that I expect an invasion capable ground force in 12 hours. Tatooine will fall in less than 24 hours".
With that order I stood up and began to walk to my quarters, accompanied by Captain Draneir I looked around me. There was no one around and I looked at him.
"Something to discuss?" I asked. He nonchalantly continued to follow me.
"I would say that the execution was perfect and that everything went as we have been studying for years, definitely one of your most dazzling military performances, I dare say even the best you have ever done".
I nodded and continued on my way, the footsteps sounding down the corridor making an annoying rhythm, but not enough to consider something as absurd as ripping out the floor and installing carpets everywhere.
I arrived then at my quarters, where I lived and relaxed. The only place on the ship without cameras, the only place where I could remove my armour without fear.
I started to take off my armour once the doors were closed, the heavy armour made of Beskar, acquired from when we destroyed Mandalore... it had been a bad decision but I never had the power to stop it. Either way, I put the armour on its stand, sitting down in only a bodyglove on my couch and appreciating my Tooka cat sleeping peacefully on top of a blaster.
"I've always wondered why Visha tends to sleep in the weirdest places."
Captain Draneir didn't answer, simply preparing the room as I rested.
"I have never asked you about your past Draneir, tell me a little, now that we have so many hours of waiting ahead of us."
Draneir then came over with two glasses of wine, placing them on the table and sitting down next to me, removing his Stormtrooper helmet.
"I was from a poor family on Coruscant and luckily got into the academy and that's it, there's nothing interesting," he said, with a certain amount of pessimism.
I took my glass and started to drink, only then did he take his own and start to drink. His helpful attitude was a mask that he created in the time he spent with me. He always tried to be polite and careful, but sometimes he showed his true nature, he was a coward and he learned to hide it under a mask.
He was the perfect salaryman, ever since I noticed that, I fell in love with his way of working and I promoted him with what legal methods I could. He somehow understood that I gave him a boost to his successful career, resulting in him following me to hell and back without complaining.
"Tell me, what rank should I give you? Advisor to the Empire? Right Hand?"
Draneir almost spat out his wine when I said that, setting the wine on the table and looking at me with eyes that begged for mercy.
"Please no, that would draw too much attention and I don't want to be involved in the internal wars of the Empire!"
I smiled and continued drinking my glass of wine. He was the perfect salaryman.
"Your military skills are good, but I have always noticed that you do better with bureaucracy, much better. The amount of paperwork you have done for me makes me ashamed, but I hope you understand, as your senior, not only in rank but in age, it is your destiny, soon you will have young men to whom you will hand over your work," I said with a understanding smile, trying to show him sympathy. However he looked more confused than anything.
"What do you mean?" he said.
Noticing that I had finished my glass of wine, I set it down on the table and looked at my Tooka who started to wake up.
"I will now control lands, establish a temporary capital and create ministries. However I will need a civilian governor for the new lands we take from the criminal empires".
He looked at me curiously.
"Prime Minister Draneir, doesn't that sound good?"
Draneir immediately lost his serene mask and began to babble.
"Please, I can't, someone of such humble birth as myself coupled with my inexperience in this sort of thing, I'm not fit for the rank!"
I stood up and looked down at him from above, he was still sitting on the sofa. I noticed how my Tooka jumped to my shoulder and looked over my head at Draneir.
"Have I ever been wrong when making personnel changes? Have I ever been wrong in spotting the talents of the individuals around us?"
Draneir looks me in the eye and then looks down.
"No."
I smiled and shook his hand.
"Then welcome to my Galactic Empire, Prime Minister Draneir."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thousands of Stormtroopers looked up at the holographic figure in front of them, an almost godlike golden figure, the Golden Heiress. She was giving a speech in front of all the troops that were about to storm Tatooine, the same image and voice being played on every Star Destroyer of their fleet, the estimated total being 500,000 Stormtroopers and support troops.
"You have always been told to die for the Empire, to lay down your lives for the greater good. To destroy the enemies of the Empire at the cost of your own selves. However, I do not stand before you today to ask you to die for the Empire. I ask that you kill for the Empire, that you endure weariness and pain for the Empire, that when you feel that your legs cannot move you move forward by the willpower of your hearts. We come to establish the future of the Empire and therefore the greatest show of loyalty is asked of you, which is not death, but victory!
Long live the Empire!"
The Stormtroopers, moved by the Golden Heiress' speech, raised their arms, shouting with great enthusiasm.
"Long live the Empire! Long live the Golden Heiress!"
The Destroyer's alarms began to sound and troops began to pour into the IDTs.
"Long live the Empire!" sounded over the voice channels of the Stormtroopers, immediately followed by the start-up noises of the engines of hundreds of IDTs. They exited the Star Destroyer, unlike with many other battles there was no anti-aircraft fire here. It was going to be a clean landing.
"What campaigns have you fought in?" a Stormtrooper asked the comrade next to him, who looked at him as he remembered.
"Mon Calamari and Kashyyyk," he answered. They looked at each other and looked forward again, waiting for the ship to land.
"My name is Rander," continued the one who started the question, proving to be new as few shared their names. A sudden wave of sympathy came over the veteran, who chuckled lightly as he introduced himself.
"Dalan, I am Dalan."
This exchange was interrupted when their Sergeant began shouting orders.
"The orders are clear, take Jabba's palace and capture Bib Fortuna, alive preferably. 90% survival is expected by the Golden Heiress and I intend to meet her quota, so no stupid charges, follow your training and follow me! Understood?"
"Understood, sir!" the Stormtroopers shouted in answer. The Sergeant nodded in affirmation and stood by for the landing. It wasn't but a few minutes later that the hatches opened.
"Go, go, go!" he ordered, jumping out of the ship. Rander and Dalan jumped out as well, touching the desert sand of Tatooine. However, barely seconds passed when a salvo of blaster fire hit their position. Rander was shocked by his first experience of war but Dalan forcibly ducked him against cover created by large boulders.
"Rander, follow my ass and what I do and you will survive!"
Rander nodded quickly, watching as Dalan stood up and fired towards the general direction of the enemies. Prompted by his training and Dalan's advice, Rander stood up and moved to his side, firing towards the general position of the enemy.
"This is your Sergeant, we'll lay down suppressive fire so the rest of the squads can advance, keep those blaster machine guns stationary!"
The Stormtrooper group of 4 platoons began firing suppressive shots at the palace walls, causing the machine guns defending the palace to stop firing, as their operators had either died or taken cover.
In the midst of the ruckus, a golden figure began to walk across the sands, uncovered, towards Jabba's palace. The soldiers recognised her as the Golden Heiress. Surprised by her appearance, some stopped firing, allowing a machine gun operator to fire at the golden figure, the missed shots lifting the sands so they could not see what had happened. Leaving the Stormtroopers in fear that their leader was dead. However, a golden light dissipated the fine sand that denied their vision, revealing the unblemished figure.
"Advance, my soldiers!" she said, pointing one arm towards the fortress, from out of nowhere came a sword, half-translucent golden in colour, expanding a metre from the Golden Heiress' arm.
"Did you hear that, boy?" Dalan said to Rander, who looked at him in surprise.
"The heiress is in battle, she is the golden version of Darth Vader, she is a leader!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. Dalan returned his gaze to the golden figure as she advanced towards the gate, unstoppable by the blaster fire of the fortress. When she reached the reinforced door, the figure smashed through it with her sword, slicing through it until it fell in on itself.
"CHARGE, WE WILL TAKE THE FORTRESS BY STORM!" the Sergeant shouted over the comms. Several Troopers threw smoke grenades to cover their advance and as the smoke filled the field, they began to run across the sand and stones to enter Jabba's palace. At that moment however, a random blaster bolt hit Rander in the leg. Falling into the sand, he began to shout for help, however no one came to help him and he had lost sight of Dalan. But then, out of the smoke a golden figure appeared, the Golden Heiress.
"Take my hand soldier, I will put you in a safe place."
Dalan took the Golden Heiress' hand, and she lifted him up, leading him to cover.
"Wait until the medics come for you, keep a hold of your blaster in case some stray enemy appears," the Heiress told him, however, Rander, in his youth and confusion, asked a question that in most situations would have resulted in his death.
"I thought we were replaceable?" he whispered.
The golden figure, who was about to leave, turned to look him in the eyes.
"Not to me."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I walked slowly through Jabba's throne room, with Bib Fortuna captured, I sat on the throne he once occupied.
"The first battle of many," I exclaimed, looking at the fat Twi'lek.
"Bring a holo-communicator," I said to my troops. They quickly brought a large dish that allowed recording and broadcasting throughout the holonet.
I took a deep breath and gave the sign to begin recording. Sitting on the throne where the greatest scum ever known to the present galaxy had once ruled, with Bib Fortuna at my feet, I looked at the device as the galaxy looked back at me.
"The pathetically small fleet of the criminal empires has been defeated and one of the greatest villainous hoards in the history of the galaxy has been conquered and is being pacified. Yet at my feet lies one of the vilest criminals of the last decade. For his crimes against civilisation, the integrity of all sapient species and for his trade in illegal goods and slaves, I condemn this scum to death. Not so that he does no more harm. But so that his victims will have their revenge. I will eliminate slavery, I will eliminate crime, I will eliminate instability and piracy. And this is but the first step."
With my armour covered in blood but gleaming thanks to an optical spell, I summoned my sword and slashed through Bib Fortuna's neck, gazing out into the galaxy at all times and unfazed by his body falling to the ground and his head hovering.
The image was everything, the figure was everything, what they thought of you was everything.
I could control the galaxy with propaganda alone. And this was the beginning of it all.
"I Came, I Saw and I Won"